I’ve
always loved fried green tomatoes and when I was growing up, my family often
had them in simple fashion – sliced about ¼“, S&P, dusted with flour, fried
in Crisco, eaten as an open faced sandwich on a slice of white bread. They’ve come a long way since then and are
now featured on many restaurant menus as appetizers, side dishes, and
sandwiches usually with much more sophisticated coatings than mom’s simple
flour.
I’ve
tried many versions in restaurants and enjoyed most of them but have never been
able to create a satisfactory coating at home so I decided to give Roz’s “The Best Fried Green Tomatoes With Garlic, Bacon, And Buttermilk Sauce” a try from her La Bella Vita blog.
I won’t reprint the recipe here but encourage
you to stop by her blog for the details and some great photos – you really need
to see her shots – then you’ll likely be heading to the store to pick up some green tomatoes. I borrowed one of her pics to whet your appetite.
The only change I made to her recipe was in cutting the tomatoes about 1/3.”
The only change I made to her recipe was in cutting the tomatoes about 1/3.”
Her blog
also includes a dipping sauce recipe and a photo of tomatoes stacked with
pimento cheese. Since we had some smoked
gouda pimento cheese on hand, I opted to try them both ways.
The
tomatoes were delicious without any toppings so I have found my coating recipe
and will make this the go-to version. I deep
fried them at 350 degrees but after reading this in Wikipedia – “Shallow frying is preferred, as the tomatoes do not float in the oil,
which allows the weight of the tomato to press the cornmeal to the underside of
the tomato. This negates the need for a
wash” – I’ll still use Roz’s wash but I’ll try pan frying next time to see which I
prefer.
I
followed the sauce recipe as written and next time would make two changes –
First, I thought the bacon was a little overwhelming so next time I will use
half as much and second, the sauce was overly salty, which may have come from
the bacon so next time I will mix and let it set a while then salt to taste. While I enjoyed the pimento cheese stack, I preferred the dipping sauce.
Photos
can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Have
a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
Larry
7/09/17 Meal Date
They sound so delicious, one day I will have to give them a try. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteLarry, Beautiful fried green tomatoes! I'd like them with a nice garlic tzatziki sauce...and a little Tabasco on mine of course... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteI had fried green tomatoes only once when we were visiting Savannah. It was offered as a side dish and I thought I would try them. I also tasted my first grits that weekend as well.. Interesting food
ReplyDeleteStacked with pimento cheese - absolutely brilliant! My husband would flip for these :)
ReplyDeleteI have so many green tomatoes right now as they just aren't getting ripe yet with all of the rain we've had. I've only had fried green tomatoes once (didn't make them myself) and loved them. Just not a 'Northern' thing so doesn't come to mind looking at all of those unripe tomatoes but need to revisit that after seeing yours!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I may just head to the store to pick up some green tomatoes today! I've only made pan fried red tomatoes and I love the crispness the pan frying gives them.
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious!
ReplyDeletecow girl says you reee your green tomatoes how do you do that and are they mushy when you go to fry them?
ReplyDelete