For my family, our new thing is ‘themed Thursdays’. I’m a sucker for anything with a theme.
A few weeks ago we did Fried Green Tomatoes. My CSA is having issues with their tomatoes so we got a bunch of green ‘maters before they pulled all their plants out. I immediately wanted to make fried green tomatoes. I’ve never made them before and frankly I’ve never really fried anything before. I don’t think I could have found a better recipe than that of Southern Living fame and moved ahead with gusto for my evening.
The entire time I am looking up recipes, all I can see in my head is that scene from the movie of the same title – battered slices of tomato frying away in a cast iron skillet. So I Netflix the movie. And then comes the sweet tea and the banana pudding (exactly how my grandmother who was born in Alabama used to make it). We have ourselves a themed evening.
Good gracious those were good tomatoes. Tart from the green tomato, crunchy from the buttermilk batter and just a little greasy. I think it helped that I was using my grandmother’s cast iron skillet, too. Here’s the recipe:
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
- Vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
- Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside.
- Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.
- Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.
- Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.
Southern Living
JULY 2003
This Thursday: Ratatouille
