You’ll need to plan ahead to make this recipe from the American Heart Association, but when you’re done, you’ll have a crunchy and flavorful treat.

While the okra is hot, that is — when they cooled off, they weren’t nearly as good.

Start with a big bag of frozen sliced okra, then let it thaw. I put the bag in the fridge in the morning. The okra had barely thawed by 3 o’clock, so I put the bag on the counter for an hour or so.

Once the okra is thawed, toss it with salt and pepper and let it sit 10 minutes, then toss with cornmeal and let it sit 10 minutes more. Don’t rush either of these steps or the coating might not adhere. Finally, coat the okra with canola-oil spray and roast for 40 minutes in a blazing-hot oven.

I like things spicy, so next time, I’ll probably add some cayenne to the coating.

As long as I was heating up the oven, I also peeled some sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch chunks. I sprayed them with a little canola oil, tossed then with some salt and pepper, then roasted them on a parchment-lined baking pan. The sweet potatoes also took 40 minutes to roast. (I stirred gently but well after after 20 minutes.) The result was so sweet that a friend who joined us for dinner was amazed that I hadn’t added sugar.

OVEN-FRIED OKRA

Yield: 6 (1/2-cup) servings

Canola oil cooking spray

1 (20-ounce) bag frozen sliced okra, thawed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups yellow corn meal (only 1/2 cup actually adheres to the okra)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil generously with cooking spray.

Spray the inside of a gallon-sized food storage bag with cooking spray. Add the okra, salt and pepper. Close the bag and shake to blend everything well. Let sit for 10 minutes to extract juice from the okra.

Add cornmeal to the bag and shake vigorously to coat the okra. Let the bag sit for 10 minutes, then shake again.

Using a wide mesh strainer, remove the okra in batches. (Or spoon okra into a colander set over a large bowl.) Shake off and discard excess cornmeal.

Place coated okra on the baking sheet. Do not let the pieces touch. Spray the okra well with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and stir the okra, turning over as many pieces as possible. Lightly spray again with cooking spray. Return to the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly spray the pieces again.

Per serving: 70 calories; 0.5g fat; no sat. fat; no cholesterol; 197mg sodium; 16g carbs; 3g fiber; 3g sugar; 3g protein.