Fried Green Tomatoes
We have never seen the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, and we've always wondered if maybe we were missing something. More than that, though, we've paused more than once when we hear the title. Do you people actually eat green tomatoes? Is that a thing? For the longest time, we never knew if it was a real dish, or just a catchy name for a movie. At some point, we realized that fried green tomatoes were, indeed, something people ate, but we had zero interest in trying them, given our dislike for tomatoes in general.
That all changed last fall when our Chief Culinary Consultant and we were in DC for the weekend and met up with some friends for dinner at Lightfoot Restaurant in Leesburg, VA. It’s a fabulous restaurant that we would highly recommend if you ever find yourself in that area. We ordered a ton of appetizers to share, including fried green tomatoes. We wasn’t going to try them, but the jalapeño cheddar and chili cream sauce on top reeled us in. Truth be told, they were fabulous. As soon as we got home, we wanted to try making them myself, but the garden was already done for the year, so we waited… And here we are!
Our mom graciously donated a few of her green tomatoes to us so we could finally make our own fried green tomatoes. These tomatoes are incredibly straightforward to mix and are a reliable appetizer, light lunch or side dish. The baking powder and baking soda in the egg and buttermilk mixture gives the fried tomato a light and crispy texture, while the cornmeal added to the final flour mixture makes them crisp, as well.
(we ran out of cornmeal and substituted panko bread crumbs for what was missing, and we think it was a fine substitution.)
You can serve these plain (we ate them like this, straight from the pan), or with a dipping sauce. We loved the sauce that was served at the restaurant, but we couldn’t remember it well enough to recreate it; a simple marinara sauce would be great, as well as a spicy cream sauce.
We sometimes resist things that we're convinced we're going to dislike, but we're thankful that we gave fried green tomatoes a try; now we know what we were missing!
One year ago: Blueberry Cobbler
Two years ago: Straightforward From-scratch French Fries
Four years ago: Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Fried Green Tomatoes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings If you have a garden bursting with tomatoes, grab a couple of green ones for this wonderful Fried Green Tomatoes recipe.- 2½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour, divided
- 1½ cups (238.5 g) cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- 2 medium green tomatoes, about 12 ounces each, cored and sliced ¼-inch thick (for a total of 12 to 14 slices)
- 1½ to 2 cups (375 to 500 ml) vegetable oil
- Place 1 cup of the flour in a large shallow dish.
- Whisk together the remaining 1½ cups flour, the cornmeal, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a second large shallow dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, baking powder and baking soda (the mixture may bubble and foam).
- Working with several slices at a time, coat the tomatoes in the flour and shake any excess flour from each piece. Using tongs, dip the tomatoes into the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat and allowing the excess to drip off. Coat the tomato slices with the seasoned flour-cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess. Place the tomatoes on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tomato slices.
- Pour enough oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet to measure ⅓-inch in depth. Heat the oil over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently lay a single layer of tomato slices in the oil (be sure not to crowd the pan) and turn the heat down to medium. Fry until the tomatoes are a deep, golden brown on the first side, 2 to 2½ minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain the oil at a temperature of 350 degrees. Gently turn the tomato slices over with tongs and fry until the second side is a deep, golden brown, 2 to 2½ minutes longer. Transfer the fried tomatoes to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels and cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining slices, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain the oil at a temperature of 350 degrees. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one serving
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- Prep: 15 minutes
- Cook: 10 minutes
- Total: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 2½ cups ( 312.5 g ) all-purpose flour, divided
- 1½ cups ( 238.5 g ) cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 cup ( 240 ml ) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) baking soda
- 2 medium green tomatoes, about 12 ounces each, cored and sliced ¼-inch thick (for a total of 12 to 14 slices)
- 1½ to 2 cups ( 375 to 500 ml ) vegetable oil
Method
- Place 1 cup of the flour in a large shallow dish.
- Whisk together the remaining 1½ cups flour, the cornmeal, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a second large shallow dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, baking powder and baking soda (the mixture may bubble and foam).
- Working with several slices at a time, coat the tomatoes in the flour and shake any excess flour from each piece. Using tongs, dip the tomatoes into the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat and allowing the excess to drip off. Coat the tomato slices with the seasoned flour-cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess. Place the tomatoes on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tomato slices.
- Pour enough oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet to measure ⅓-inch in depth. Heat the oil over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently lay a single layer of tomato slices in the oil (be sure not to crowd the pan) and turn the heat down to medium. Fry until the tomatoes are a deep, golden brown on the first side, 2 to 2½ minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain the oil at a temperature of 350 degrees. Gently turn the tomato slices over with tongs and fry until the second side is a deep, golden brown, 2 to 2½ minutes longer. Transfer the fried tomatoes to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels and cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining slices, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain the oil at a temperature of 350 degrees. Serve immediately.
