Recipe and photo updated July 8, 2011
Ever since that wonderful movie with Jessica Tandy I’ve wondered about fried green tomatoes. People really eat green tomatoes? I recall being served fried tomatoes for breakfast while visiting London, but they weren’t green. Curious as usual, we found some big green tomatoes at the farmer’s market last weekend and just had to try them. The verdict at this house? Yum! What a great way to make use of end-of-the-season tomatoes.
Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe
If you can find it, use fine white cornmeal, which is the primary cornmeal used in the South. Buttermilk adds flavor and tang, but is not strictly necessary.
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INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium, firm green tomatoes
- Salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (optional)
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil
METHOD
1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt. Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place in separate shallow bowls: the flour and Cajun seasoning (if using), buttermilk and egg, and bread crumbs and cornmeal.
2 Heat the peanut oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain. These are fantastic with a little Tabasco sauce or remoulade.