Green Tomatoes Parmesan

 

I'm new to the world of fried green tomatoes. The idea just didn't appeal to me so I didn't avoid them per se, but I never initiated a taste either. I can't remember where I first tried fried green tomatoes but I'm pretty sure my sister-in-law, Mrs. FancyPants, had ordered some and I decided to give it a taste. It was good! How could I doubt though?? It's fried! I've since eaten fried green tomatoes from a couple of different places and I feel like the tomato itself is mild in flavor. The key is to make sure the batter is tasty so the end result is scrumptious. I would also suggest that even if you don't like tomatoes, try a fried green tomato next chance you get. You may be surprised!

I came across this recipe in my good friend T-Rae's Taste of Home magazine. It was full of prize winning recipes so I figured a fried green tomato recipe out of this magazine should be good. The original recipe called for 3 tomatoes but I had a four pack so I decided to just keep it simple and double the batter portion of the recipe. Also, I didn't have any garlic salt so I used garlic powder and salt instead. Same difference right! Also with the garlic, salt and green tomatoes, I also used cornmeal, freshly grated Parmesan, 2 eggs, canola oil, pepper and flour.

The first thing you want to do is slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Lay them all out on paper towels and liberally sprinkle with salt. The recipe calls for letting the tomatoes sit for 30 to 60 minutes. I decided to let them sit for 60 minutes total because a few of my tomatoes were reddish on the inside which I figured would mean they would benefit from the extra time. The salt draws moisture out of the tomatoes. This technique is called "sweating" and is a common technique used on eggplants when making eggplant parm. 

 

While the green tomatoes were doing their thing, I put the dry batter together. Put all the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl.

 

 

Mix the ingredients together. You'll have one bowl of the beaten eggs and one bowl of the batter.

 

 

Once the green tomatoes are ready, dip each slice into the beaten eggs, then into the cornmeal batter. I made sure each slice was thoroughly coated and then layed them on a piece of aluminum foil. I would have used wax paper but my mom didn't have any.

 

 

I don't fry often so I purposely made this at my mom's house so she could fry these up for me. Plus I knew Skywalker wouldn't be eating them and if we did this during Sunday dinner, there would be plenty of adults and a few adventurous kids willing to scarf them down. So my mom heated the oil to the proper temperature and fried these puppies up.

 

 

She fried them until they were perfectly golden brown. One day I'll be as good as my momma!

 

 

I realized I didn't create a dipping sauce which is how I've tried them in the past, but these were seasoned just right so no sauce was needed. Everyone seemed to enjoy them and they were gone in no time. Yum!!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

(slightly adapted from Taste of Home's Prize Winning Recipes Green Tomatoes Parmesan)

 

4 green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

salt for sweating
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp of all-purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil

  

Directions:

1.  Lightly sprinkle tomatoes with salt; drain on paper towels for 30-60 minutes.
2. Meanwhile combine cornmeal, Parmesan, flour, garlic powder, salt, oregano & pepper in shallow plate.
3. Dip each tomato slice into the beaten egg mix, then into the cornmeal mixture. 
4. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Fry tomatoes, a few at a time, for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towel-lined wire rack.