Creole Tomato and Okra Salsa

Creole tomatoes are Louisiana's gift to summer cooking. They grow fat and sweet in our humid heat, turning red on the vine with a flavor you can't find in anything shipped across the country. When those tomatoes hit the farmers markets in June, I buy them by the box. At Lagniappe, we feature them every way we can think of until the season ends.

This salsa came from wanting to showcase two of my favorite summer ingredients together. Okra gets a bad reputation from folks who've only had it cooked wrong, turned slimy in a stew by someone who didn't understand the vegetable. But sear it hard and fast in a screaming hot skillet, and you get something magical: tender inside, slightly charred outside, with a clean taste that stands up to sweet tomatoes and bright herbs.

The holy trinity makes its appearance here because this is still Louisiana cooking, even in a simple salsa. That combination of onion, celery, and bell pepper is in my blood. My grandmother Evangeline put it in everything, and so do I. The Creole seasoning and a splash of vinegar tie it all together into something that tastes like a Gulf Coast summer afternoon.