Cornmeal Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are one of those things that I unfortunately did not try until I was a full grown adult.  And by full grown adult I mean I didn't try them until I was 25.  Yikes!  I know, I know.  For a Southerner that's basically a cardinal sin.

But when I tried them if was as if I'd finally seen the light.  I've had several versions of fried green tomatoes:  some with relish, some with goat cheese, some with a spicy sauce on top.  While I love all of these twists, I'm pretty partial to a nice helping of good ole plain fried green tomatoes.  They're so delicious in and of themselves that I don't really need anything paired with them in order for me to enjoy them.

My version below is made with cornmeal instead of flour.  I find that it gives the tomatoes a nicer crunch.  I also like a lot of pepper in mine to give them a bit of a kick.

Check out those big chunks of black pepper :)  mmmmm

And who knows, I might experiment and feature different versions of this dish with some relish or cheese, but for right now these will do just fine :)

Serve these up as a nice side dish or as an appetizer.  Easy and tasty!




Cornmeal Fried Green Tomatoes CCK Original
Printable Version
2 green tomatoes, sliced
1 C cornmeal mix (I use White Lily Buttermilk Cornmeal mix which has just a touch of flour in it)
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1/2 C milk
vegetable oil

Slice tomatoes.

Set out two separate bowls.  Combine cornmeal, salt and pepper in one bowl.  Combine egg and milk in the other.  Stir ingredients of both bowls well to combine thoroughly.  Make sure egg is beaten in milk mixture.

Farm fresh eggs always just taste better.

Working with a few slices at a time, toss slices in milk/egg mixture to coat.  Transfer to cornmeal mixture and coat well.  Repeat process so that each slice makes 2 trips to the milk/egg mixture and 2 trips to the cornmeal mixture. (A thicker coating gives the tomatoes a better crunch in my opinion.)

The slices get a nice dip in the egg/milk pool before

getting dressed in a nice coating of cornmeal mix.  And it's so nice they have

to go back twice!

Heat vegetable oil in large frying pan over medium heat.  You should have the oil 1/2 inch deep in the pan.  Place a few tomatoes slices into the pan and brown on one side before flipping to the other.  Flip carefully, as not to break off any of the breaded part.

I use this cast iron skillet whenever I can.  I just feel like

it makes the food taste better for some reason.  Maybe it's just the nostalgic

factor?

*Make sure and don't crowd the tomatoes.  They shouldn't touch when in the pan.

Remove fried tomato slices to paper towel lined plate.  Repeat until all tomatoes have been fried.

Serve immediately.