Fall is here with winter nipping at its heels. First, I retired - and so far I am loving it. I work out in the morning, try to do 1 useful thing every day (like clean the bathroom or change the sheets), and I’ve been connecting with friends.
I’ve also been winding down the garden - it’s time. I participated in a garden research project through the Master Gardener program this year; the goal is to determine how much produce one can grow in approximately 200 sq. ft. The big winners in our garden are: Tomatoes (90 lbs), zucchini & summer squash (> 70 lbs), cucumbers (> 30 lbs), and winter squash - the numbers are not in yet but soon.
Last night's frost threat sent me to the garden to pick all of the tender plants and the remaining tomatoes - so now I have a nice supply of green tomatoes. A couple days ago I used some of them to make fried green tomatoes and today I’m cooking up a green tomato and jalapeno cornbread to accompany the lentil, potato, and swiss chard soup I started in the crockpot this morning. It smells delicious in here!
Initially, I tried to take a pan-fried green tomato recipe and convert it to an oven-roasted - don’t do that - it didn’t work well. What I will say is oven roasting them made for less frying time but that is about all I will say. Sometimes following a recipe is a good idea.
Ingredients:
3 firm green tomatoes
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal - medium grind
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup buttermilk dairy-free make your own buttermilk with almond, cashew, or coconut milk by adding ½ tablespoon of white vinegar to the dairy-free milk
1 ½ cups vegetable oil, I like peanut oil for frying
salt & pepper to taste
Dipping sauce:
mayo
siracha
garlic salt
cayenne pepper
paprika
garlic salt
Instructions:
Slice the green tomatoes ¼ inch thick and place them on a paper towel-lined plate.
Salt the tomatoes on both sides and let sit for 10 minutes. Do not skip this step, it helps draw the extra water out of the tomatoes. Pour the buttermilk into a pie pan or shallow dish. Add tomatoes to the buttermilk.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, and seasonings in a pie pan or shallow dish. Mix until fully combined. Dip buttermilk-covered tomatoes into the cornmeal-flour mixture. Cover both sides of the tomatoes with the mixture.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Carefully place the tomatoes into the hot oil. Turn to cook on both sides. Fry until golden.
Remove from pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with sauce Enjoy!
