Greek Okra Stew (Bamies)

Greek Okra Stew makes my mouth water just writing this opening. It’s honestly so good. This is a Greek dish I grew up eating, the traditional name is “Bamies”. What it is is okra stewed in a tomato and olive oil-based sauce. This stew makes a delicious main course or perfect side dish.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Okra Stew

• Easy: Make this recipe in under an hour. It’s easy, delicious, and the perfect meal for an easy, meat-free dish
• Unique: Many people avoid okra because it can be slimy but if you prepare it the right way, it won’t be slimy but delicious
• Traditional: Whether you are Greek or not, this dish will transport you to Greece as it’s authentic and so tasty

🍲 Ingredients

Okra – Okra can be so delicious but it can also be terrible if you don’t prep it correctly. To avoid slimy okra, soak it in vinegar or water before cooking with them.

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Passatta – Passatta is just pureed and strained uncooked tomatoes. It has nothing else in it but tomatoes, and can be a great base for many recipes. If you can’t find passata, puree or strained tomatoes are essentially the same thing

👩‍🍳 How to Make Okra Stew

1. Soak the trimmed okra in a large bowl of water for 15 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
2. Once the okra has soaked, drain and set aside. Into a large pot on medium heat, add olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add onion and garlic and saute 3-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
3. Add okra that’s been soaked and drained, chopped potatoes and parsley. Stir and cook 8-10 minutes until the potatoes start to develop a bit of colour.
4. Add vegetable or chicken stock paste, cook for a minute. Add fresh tomato wedges, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste, cook for another minute.
5. Add red wine vinegar, stir and cook for a minute. Add 1/3 cup pureed tomatoes or passata and stir to combine. Finally add salt, pepper, sugar and water and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, keeping at a simmer with the lid on the pot for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Check once and a while to make sure there is always water in the pot. You don’t want this to be a soup-like dish but you definitely want some extra liquid so you can enjoy that beautiful sauce with a slice of bread. If needed, add 1/2 cup more water. After 15-20 minutes, serve in bowls topped with feta and a drizzle of olive oil and a slice of bread to dip in.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• Stir-frying or pickling okra are great ways to eat it
• Make sure to soak your okra before making this recipe. You will not want to skip this step
• Serve this dish with sourdough bread, fluffy pitas, a side of rice, or even eat it as a side dish to your main course

🗒 Substitutions

• Okra: The most traditional way to make this recipe is with okra, but if you can’t find it, you can use this recipe as a base and use green beans or zucchini instead
• Feta: Skip the feta on the top to make this recipe vegan

🗒 Best served with

• Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe
• Greek Chicken Souvlaki
• Bifteki

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store leftover Okra Stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. This stew is fantastic reheated. It’s so good!

🤔 Common Questions

Greek Okra Stew (Bamies)

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This Okra Stew recipe is a traditional dish know as Bamies in the Greek culture. It's comforting, unique, and so yummy.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Vegetarian Meals

Cuisine Greek

Servings 4

Calories 387 kcal

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Ingredients

  

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• 30 pieces fresh okra pods, trim the ends
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 3 potatoes quartered, than halved
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp chicken or vegetable stock paste
• 2 tomatoes, cut into 1/6ths
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce or passatta
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• vegan or regular feta, olive oil, salt and bread or pita for serving

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Instructions

 

• Soak the trimmed okra in a large bowl of water with a few big pinches of salt for 15 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
• Once the okra has soaked, drain and set aside. Into a large pot on medium heat, add olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add onion and garlic and saute 3-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
• Add okra that's been soaked and drained, the chopped potatoes, parsley and red wine vinegar. Stir and cook 8-10 minutes until the potatoes start to develop a bit of colour.
• Add vegetable or chicken stock paste, cook for a minute. Add fresh tomato wedges, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste, cook for another minute.
• Add 1/3 cup pureed tomatoes or passata and stir to combine. Finally add salt, pepper, sugar and water and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, keeping at a simmer with the lid on the pot for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Check once and a while to make sure there is always water in the pot. You don’t want this to be a soup-like dish but you definitely want some extra liquid so you can enjoy that beautiful sauce with a slice of bread. If needed, add 1/2 cup more water. After 15-20 minutes, serve in bowls topped with feta and a drizzle of olive oil and a slice of bread to dip in.

Notes

• If you like this recipe you’ll love our Fasolakia (Greek Green Bean Stew)
• Serve with our Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe
• If you don’t have chicken stock paste, use 2 cups chicken stock instead of water.

Nutrition

Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.2g | Protein: 5.3g | Fat: 28.6g | Saturated Fat: 4.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20.1g | Sodium: 626mg | Fiber: 7.8g | Sugar: 7.4g

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