Fried Green Tomatoes (a traditional Southern staple)
Why I Love This Recipe
I am adding acidic foods back to my diet slowly as I recover from an acid-related medical issue. I had originally intended to make fried green tomatoes on a night when we had friends over, but my husband made me put a temporary moratorium on dinner parties (he’s tired of washing so many dishes), so we were left to eat them ourselves. Poor us. I decided to make them from three green tomatoes (and let the other two ripen), thinking I would use the leftovers in sandwiches if they turned out not to make me sick. I should have known that a) I find them generally irresistable, and b) I would find them more irresistable than usual given that I have not been eating them for nearly two years. And then Dan liked them as well (despite not liking tomatoes), which was another shock–so we ate all three! I’ll have to be careful when/if I make them in the future that we not repeat that level of consumption.
I used to eat these with ranch dressing on them, but the feta cheese we had them with this time was also truly marvelous.
Ingredients You'll Need
5 firm, green (unripe) organic tomatoes
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 c. organic corn meal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cage-free eggs
1/2 c. organic milk
Enough canola oil to put 1/4″ of oil in the bottom of the pan you’re using
Directions
I am adding acidic foods back to my diet slowly as I recover from an acid-related medical issue. I had originally intended to make fried green tomatoes on a night when we had friends over, but my husband made me put a temporary moratorium on dinner parties (he’s tired of washing so many dishes), so we were left to eat them ourselves. Poor us. I decided to make them from three green tomatoes (and let the other two ripen), thinking I would use the leftovers in sandwiches if they turned out not to make me sick. I should have known that a) I find them generally irresistable, and b) I would find them more irresistable than usual given that I have not been eating them for nearly two years. And then Dan liked them as well (despite not liking tomatoes), which was another shock–so we ate all three! I’ll have to be careful when/if I make them in the future that we not repeat that level of consumption.
Fried Green Tomatoes
5 firm, green (unripe) organic tomatoes
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 c. organic corn meal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cage-free eggs
1/2 c. organic milk
Enough canola oil to put 1/4″ of oil in the bottom of the pan you’re using
Slice your tomatoes into slices that are about 1/2″ thick. Lay out your slices on a non-reactive pan (I use a ceramic baking dish), and sprinkle the sugar across your slices. Somehow, doing this draws moisture out of the tomatoes. Let them sit a few minutes–15 to 30 would be fine.
Mix together the bread crumbs, corn meal,salt, and pepper in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
Pour enough oil into a non-stick pan (or seasoned cast iron skillet) to make the oil about 1/4″ deep. Your pan should be wide enough to let you put in a good number of tomato pieces without them touching. Heat the oil to med-high; if the oil starts smoking, turn it down or remove it from the eye until it has cooled off a bit. (You don’t want to try to cook them in oil so hot it’s smoking; you could start a fire that way . . . or burn your breading.)
While the oil is heating, drop several tomato slices into the milk mixture; then fish them out one by one and dredge them in the breading. Place them on a plate. When you have enough to fill the pan you’re using, transfer them into the oil, being careful not to burn yourself.
Let fry 1-2 minutes, then flip. Flip again after 1-2 minutes if your side that’s facing up isn’t golden brown.
Put a couple of paper towels (or something else to drain off some oil) on a plate, and transfer the fried green tomatoes to that plate as they are done.
I used to eat these with ranch dressing on them, but the feta cheese we had them with this time was also truly marvelous.
(www.danandsally.com)