Friday Feast: Fried Green Tomatoes

It is tomato season here in Tennessee, and my tomato plants are producing! (Don’t you love the smell of tomato plants in the sun? Such a potent, striking smell… but a fresh one too.) Unfortunately, I get prematurely excited when the tomatoes start growing, and I end up picking them off the vine too soon. But, this means we have this week’s Friday Feast: fried green tomatoes (FGTs).

This was actually my second attempt with FGTs… the first try resulted in batter that just fell off the ‘mater. No fun. But, I pulled out the trustworthy “Real Simple” magazine recipe, and it hit the spot. It was still not perfect — they were kind of bland — but they looked (and were cooked) great.

Fried Green Tomatoes (adapted from Real Simple Magazine)

 Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Cleanup time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 pound green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1/2 cup canola oil

salt

Kate’s additions: Tabasco, more salt, freshly ground pepper

• Place the flour, eggs, and cornmeal in 3 separate shallow bowls. (I would add Tabasco to the eggs, and salt and pepper to the cornmeal.)
• Dip the tomatoes first in the flour, then in the eggs (letting the excess drip off), and finally in the cornmeal, pressing gently to help it adhere.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the tomatoes until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.