added this 18 years ago
Fried Green Tomatoes
What you need:
1/2 cup flour or finely ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
oil, as needed for frying
4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4"
What you do:
1. Mix flour or cornmeal with salt and pepper. Heat oil for frying.
2. Dip tomatoes in this mixture. Place in heavy skillet containing hot oil.
3. Fry slowly until brown, turning once.
Preparation Time:
20 minutes
Cooking Time:
Servings:
6
SO HOW'D IT GO?
mmmmm! So good, I (of course) did some altering. I second the dredge in soymillk! It makes the breading more even. Also I spiced the crap out of them. To the breading and to them right in the pan I added oregano, italian seasoning and a touch of garlic powder. Oh so good and then I dipped them in marinara of course! Also if you want to go for a less "south" taste add some parma to them and you have an italian inspired dish- oh and I love them with Frank's hot sauce too... okay I dont think there is a way i dont like them!
a great alternative if you can't find green tomatoes is eggplant. slightly different taste, same southern deliciousness!
I generally mix cornmeal and flour for the coating, although I'm fine with either one, and add a few leaves of dried thyme. The surfaces are moist-- you don't have to dip them in anything sticky to get the coating to stick, so I don't think vegans will have to devise anything to replace an egg!
Although it doesn't make this already indulgent treat any lighter, I love to serve fried green tomatoes with gravy and rice. My favorite gravy: pour off whatever oil remains in the pan, and add a tablespoon of margarine. When it's melted, stir in about 2 tablespoons of flour (leftover flour/cornmeal and I generally add a pinch of chickpea flour because it makes such amazingly silky gravy) and stir while it sizzles a moment or two, to coat the grains of flour. Then add about 1 1/2-2 cups plain soymilk (seriously, it makes lovely, creamy gravy, better than dairy ever did) and whisk like crazy. I add another pinch of thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Then pile tomatoes beside a mound of rice, and top rice with gravy-- I like a simple sliced raw veggie salad alongside but I usually don't get too fancy about it.
You can fry firm-ripe (slightly underripe) tomatoes too, but they are so different that they really are a different dish. If you can't obtain green ones, try them!
so so yummy. I too am from the sort-of-south in Virginia and used to eat my stepmothers every summer. I find that if you dredge them in some soy/rice milk first the cornmeal sticks better.
This is such a great recipe. I had never tried fried green tomatoes before but like everyone I have always wanted to since the movie! I used a little bit of soy milk so they were extra-sticky.