Fried-Green Tomatoes

If your kitchen is anything like mine, you have a box of newspaper wrapped green tomatoes waiting to ripen, and you are wondering how you are possibly going to eat all those tomatoes. So I was glad when I saw a twolittlechefs reader request a recipe for to use up her green tomatoes.

Now, I had never had fried green tomatoes, but have wanted to try them for years, probably ever since I saw the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes. So I searched and found many recipes, some where very involved and some were much simplier. I choose two from the Food Network, one for the batter and one for a dipping sauce to serve on the side.

The consensus of those who were partaking of the fried green tomatoes that evening agreed that you can taste the tomato, but more as an after-thought to the fried batter. If you dip them, you mostly taste the sauce (which is great, so you will be happy about that).

The tomatoes I used were quite small, so we only cut them about 1/4" thick, however the recipe says to cut them 1/2" thick, which I will do in the future. That way you will be ensured to get a bit more tomato flavor and a little less fried batter flavor. So the lesson here is, the thinner you cut them, the less tomato taste you will get and vice versa.

Fried Green TomatoesRecipe from the Food Network

Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Pinch cayenne
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large unripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices, ends removed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Hot pepper sauce, for serving *I used the Buttermilk Dipping Sauce (below) instead
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, and cayenne together.
2. Pour the buttermilk into a separate bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dip the tomatoes in the buttermilk and then dredge them in the cornmeal mixture, coating both sides well.
3. Place a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is hot, pan-fry the tomatoes (in batches if necessary) until golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
4. Carefully remove the tomatoes and drain on paper towels. Serve with hot pepper sauce and lemon.

Buttermilk Dipping Sauce:1 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 lime, juiced
4 scallions, sliced thin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the apple cider and brown sugar. Allow to reduce until thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, add buttermilk, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce and lime juice and whisk well. Add in the scallions and the apple cider mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with Fried Green Tomatoes.