Tomatoes are still coming in but I’m not sure how much longer we have until we get a frost. Right now it’s still in the 70s during the day here, and usually the 50s at night so the tomatoes are still ripening, but I had a couple of beautiful green ones weighing down the vines so I picked them to fry. I’m going to use one that’s red too, but not overly ripe.
I saw a menu item one time where they served a crab cake on a fried green tomato, which is a great idea, especially if you only have one tomato to fry – you can serve anything you want on them. Today I’m making them as a side dish with dip since I’ll have a lot of slices. I recommend making the dip first so it has time to chill, plus you can then eat the tomatoes while they’re still hot. The dip is also good for a salad dressing; I used basil to go well with tomatoes.
Creamy Dressing/Dip
1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
1/4 C mayonnaise (sour cream is OK too)
1 T finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 t chopped fresh dill
1/2 t lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix everything together. Chill if you have time.
Fried Green Tomatoes
3 large green tomatoes
2 eggs
1/4 C milk
1/2 cup flour
1 C breadcrumbs
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 t paprika
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 C avocado, hemp, or coconut oil
Cut tomatoes into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices – not too thin. Set up three bowls and put flour in one bowl. Whisk eggs and milk in one bowl. Mix bread crumbs, cornmeal, paprika, salt and pepper in the other bowl. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into the milk and egg mixture. Coat thoroughly in breadcrumbs.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place tomatoes in frying pan of hot oil in a single layer, not touching. When they’re browned, turn carefully and fry the other side. Drain them on paper towels. Put paper towels between the batches.
