Recipe: Fried Green Tomato - A Southern Comfort
By Danny Thompson
I was born and raised in the deep south…about as deep as you can get.
And while some people have things they consider to be the true essence of the South — cotton plantations, Dixie belles, a huge rebel flag on a monster truck, Tommy Lee Jones, etc. — I consider our greatest accomplishment a simple southern delicacy known as the Fried Green Tomato.
Yes, we pick them green, slice them and—like just about everything else down here—we fry it up to a light golden brown.
Done right, you bite into the crispy outer coating and the slightly tart tomato flavor just explodes in your mouth.
There really is nothing quite like it.
And here’s how it’s done:
Ingredients:
4 to 6 green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
salt and pepper
flour for dusting
2 eggs, beaten
cornmeal or bread crumbs
bacon grease or vegetable oil
Preparation:
Salt and pepper the tomato slices; dust lightly with flour. Dip slices in beaten egg, letting excess drip off, then coat well with meal or crumbs (I prefer corn meal). Fry in hot grease or oil until browned, turning gently (about 3 minutes each side).
Serve with…well, just about anything. Or by itself as a snack or appetizer — I’ve even had it as a sandwich.
Some people serve it with a salsa verde (heavy on the cilantro), which compliments it quite nicely.
Some serve it with a marinara, which isn’t bad per se, but as a personal preference, I think the red romas of the sauce compete too much with the flavor of the green tomatoes.
If you’ve never had them, I urge you to give them a try and let us know what you think.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:22 am
[...] Eat them green! We’ve already told you how to make delicious fried green tomatoes and tasty green tomato chutney, but why not take this opportunity to come up with a great recipe of [...]
May 9th, 2008 at 7:09 am
I went to a resteraunt in Natchitoches, LA and had a BLT with fried green tomatoes. It was great! Linda