Okra and Zucchini in Harissa-Tomato Sauce

Okra is braised in thick tomato sauce throughout the Mediterranean. But the thick sauce poses a problem: Stirring during cooking crushes the pods to mush, defeating the point of all the hard work that was once done in paring the stems. In Egypt women found a way to cook the pods to silky tenderness without letting them get mushy—they bake the okra, often together with meat or poultry in a rich tomato sauce (see Note). Adopting this method, I spice up