Tastes of the South.
I’m sure you are well aware of the classics.
Fried chicken and collards greens and grits, just to name a few.
There is another one which is gaining more and more attention, and I
am even seeing it on menus outside of the South.
Fried Green Tomatoes.
Now I am sure most of you unaware of this Southern delicacy are asking yourself.
why would anyone take an unripe vegetable, dredge it in egg and flour, and
fry it up to a golden, delicious brown?
In a few words… welcome to the South. 🙂
Fried Green Tomatoes with Summer Garden Salsa
There is a reason we Southern gardeners plant way more tomato plants than
we think we will need. First, you can never have enough succulent, red tomatoes
fresh from the garden. To get to those succulent red tomatoes, they have
to ripen on the vine from green tomatoes. But, you can’t have yummy Fried
Green Tomatoes without – well, green tomatoes. See where the battle comes in.
😀
So, you plant extra plants so you can enjoy both varieties throughout the Summer.
These are the absolute last of our tomatoes. I was able to harvest a small
basket of red ones which I will make into Homemade Red Sauce for use
in pastas and chilis, etc. I could not resist one more batch of these
fried green lovelies. I normally fry them up and eat them almost right
out of the pan. 🙂 Since The Hubbs doesn’t care for these (gasp!) – I
treat myself to these for a quick lunch.
We had some friends over a few weeks ago, and I fixed these as an appetizer.
I call this “Company’s Coming Fried Green Tomatoes.” 😀
I start by slicing the tomatoes about 1/4″ thick. Green tomatoes are not as
juicy as red tomatoes, and in fact the texture is much harder. I add a
generous amount of salt and pepper because the plain tomato itself really
does not have a lot of flavor.
Next, I create a dredging station. I add about 4 tablespoons of water to
one egg to make an egg bath. Then, I add salt and pepper to plain flour.
In an iron skillet on Medium High heat, I add one part olive oil to one part butter.
The dredging and frying process goes fast. Make sure you have a plate
layered with paper towels nearby for draining the fried tomatoes when
you pull them from the pan.
A quick dip in the egg bath…
Followed by a heavy dredging in the flour. I don’t double dredge.
I have been to restaurants and ordered Fried Green Tomatoes and they used a double-dredging
technique. I think the batter overwhelms the tomato. I have also had recipes
which use corn meal, or a combination of flour and cornmeal. Again, it is
my personal choice to use flour only. If you like cornmeal, I would suggest a
50-50 ratio versus all corn meal as this can be far too gritty.
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It only takes a few minutes on each side to get a golden brown, crispy color.
Transfer them to your paper towel covered plate to drain well.
Now here is the “Company’s Coming” part. Topping them with a fresh Garden
Salsa that is jam packed with Summer goodness.
Fresh Roma Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Jalapeno, Sweet Summer Corn, Onion,
Cilantro and Black Beans. Oh my!
I add a generous scoop of Garden Salsa, then top it off with a few slices of
creamy avocado and finally – sprinkle some zesty, briny feta cheese.
I also made a Cilantro-Jalapeno Oil for the side for anyone wanting an extra
bit of kick to their palette.
All of these components amounts to what I call “the perfect bite.”
It is Summer time on a plate.
Even if you don’t have any green tomatoes to fry up, this fabulous Summer
Garden Salsa is good on everything from grilled eggplant to grilled fish. I am
sharing my easy recipe below in printable format.
Do you also love Fried Green Tomatoes? How do you cook yours?
Do you have a little secret that makes yours extra special?
I’d love for you to share your comments below.
Thank you for letting me share one of my fave
Summertime treats with you.
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- 1 cup roma tomatoes, chopped *(or any riped tomato)
- 1/2 large purple onion, chopped
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 small jalapeno, chopped *(add more for a higher heat)
- about 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup fresh sweet corn
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- squeeze fresh lime
- zest of 1/2 lime
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- Mix all ingredients together. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve room temperature or chilled.
- If you do not have fresh corn, you can substitute canned corn. Make sure you drain it well.
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Here are some other Summertime Recipes from
The Everyday Home…
Rotisserie Deli Style Chicken Salad
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