The deed is done. I have picked all the tomatoes, uprooted the plants and put the garden to bed.
I'd like to think the tomatoes didn't want to go any more than I wanted to remove them. I had ambitious plans to deal with the garden on Sunday. But it was unseasonably hot and muggy. After picking just one fist-sized bright red tomato I decided to give the green ones another day to ripen. But Monday blustered in with a thunder storm and wind. Every time I went to complete the unpleasant task, the skies opened just as I reached the tomato patch. Was this a sign?
Cold, grumpy and sad to see my perpetual tomato supply gone, I finished the job Monday evening as the sky turned dark as my mood.
But things are looking up. In the light of day I now see I have lots of tomatoes to play with — 10-feet of window sills worth, all in various stages of ripeness. Some are ready to eat now, or will be in a few days. Others are green and hard as an apple.
There are green, red and yellow...
Big as an orange. Small as a grape.
Knowing many of the green tomatoes won't ripen, I decided to try a classic Southern recipe. One I'd only heard of but never tried — Fried Green Tomatoes.
So, I made a classic, pan-fried version. Dip. Bread. Fry.
The results were tart and tangy, but to my mind needed something. All that dipping and frying reminded me of the Eggplant and Chicken Puttanesca Stacks I made for the Almost Meatless potluck. So, I decided to wing things and make a Fried Green Tomato Parmesan.
The resulting Parmesan was tangier than the eggplant version and had a firmer texture. Unlike eggplant or ripe tomatoes, green tomatoes don't break down very much during cooking, so they are a bit more like meat. Andrew, who is no friend of eggplant, preferred this variation. "It was more in keeping with what I like," said my non-taster, veggie-phobic husband.
Have a bunch of green tomatoes on hand? Fry 'em up. If you like them as is, eat them as a side dish. If they don't appeal, make them into Parmesan. Either way, they use up those extra tomatoes no one seems to know what to do with north of the border.
How do you use your green tomatoes? Are they compost or do you turn them into a seasonal treat?
Fried Green Tomato Parmesan
Printable Recipe
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 firm medium to large green tomatoes, cored
- salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup dried bread crumbs (or Panko)
- olive or canola oil
- 2 cups tomato sauce (homemade or good quality store bought)
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bread the tomato slices by dipping them into the coating ingredients in the following order: milk, flour, egg, bread crumbs.
- Fry each slice for 4 to 5 minutes per side. When done, place in a single layer to cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" oven-proof pan.
- Cover with tomato sauce.
- Sprinkle with parmesan.
- Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the tomatoes are done to your liking.
- Serve on pasta.
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18 comments:
My dad actually buys green tomatoes, sticks them in a box covered with newspaper in the basement, and pulls them out to pop in the freezer as they ripen. when he has enough he makes a batch of salsa or sauce.
What a delicious looking meal this is!!
Just perfect!! I so love green tomatoes!!
What an inventive idea, Charmian. I'll bet it was delicious, it certainly looks to be. Yum!
Personally, I've never done anything with a green tomato. Er, that sounds funny. LOL
Cheryl, you can do that?! I'm learning soooo much from the comments people post. Thanks for the heads up. This is brilliant.
Sophie, I had never tried green tomatoes before and liked them. Thanks for the kind words.
Diva, darling. Lovely to hear from you. I'm dead jealous that you're away at the BlogHer food conference. Thanks for dropping by! And truth be told, I was very pleased with myself over this idea. I'd doubly pleased that Andrew gave it a thumbs up and not just a shoulder shrug.
I think I've only eaten fried green tomatoes once, and they were tasty, but I've never had the opportunity to play with them myself. Your parmesan version is a beauty.
Slurp.
You should be pleased with yourself ... in fact, I wonder if you've invented it? I think you deserve a sparkly tiara. Bill would flip for this dish ... remind me of it next year. LOL
I wish you could have joined us for BHF, it was a blast. I doubt I'll be able to recap it adequately ... I was too busy having fun to take many pictures!
Diva, I will go out and get a sparkly tiara this weekend.
If you lived closer I'd have you and Bill in for a big dish of this.
Maybe next year I'll make the BlogHer Food conference. If so, you'd better go too!!
OMG - I think I'm gaining weight thinking about eating those little yummies!
I love eggplant and I love fried green tomatos so this is definitely something I will get after next time I have the surplus.
Meantime, CHRISTIE (who seems very fun) here's something to try if you have any more green tomatos.
Slice up a pan of green tomatos and yellow crookneck squash. Do NOT slice them evenly. Sort of half a slice, angled seems to do best. And throw in half an onion, diced. Saute with a little oil or, dare I say it, BUTTER. The tangy tomatos enliven the squash. It's an easy old Southern sidedish, usually tried early in the season when people get tired of waiting for those green tomatos to ripen.
I hope you enjoy it.
I still need to pull all my tomatoes and bring them in the house. Hopefully tomorrow before we get another cold front... I'm going to let them ripen indoors and then dice them up and freeze them.
Nice to meet you.
I was going to paste the link without permission because I had very felt the interest for your blog.
Please link me with the blog if it is good.
URL:http://hiro-anniversary.blogspot.com/
E-mail:h-mori@ibs-office.com
Cheryl, thanks, but it wasn't very slurpy. I'm surprised how green tomatoes hold together during cooking.
Diva, isn't it ironic that during the best times of our lives we're too busy to snap pictures? Glad you had a too-fun-for-photos time!
Dana, it's not that fattening. Honest. Just cut back a bit on the cheese.
Marti, your recipe sounds so good I will forgive you for calling me Christie. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Karen, freezing seems to be the popular preservation choice. Good luck with your harvest.
Hiro, glad you like my blog. Thanks for taking the time to post a comment!
I've had good luck lifting the entire tomato plants, roots and all, taking them into the greenhouse or garage and hanging them upside-down. They ripen on the vine. Way less fuss than having to wrap individual fruits in newspapers, putting in boxes, then sorting through to find the ripe ones.
i loved the green tomatoes at the end of the season! i just sliced them up and added them to any saute dish i made. they are yummy with chicken and marinated artichoke hearts, mushrooms over a nice pasta.
yum!
:o)
puglette
Fantastic! I came home form blogher food to about 100 pounds of green tomatoes and I need to use them up! The Diva sent me here, she? is awesome!
**from** not form duhh
Anonymous, you're the second person to mention this technique. Wish I'd known about it earlier. Oh well, I'll keep it in mind for next year. Many thanks!!
Puglette, sounds wonderful. I'll give it a try this weekend.
Laura, you went to BlogHer Food? I'm so jealous. Diva's great and I'm thrilled she recommended me. And don't worry about the typo. If I had to post an explanation every time I goofed at the keyboard I'd never have time to blog.
What a clever use of fried green tomatoes. An Italian slant is always a winner with me.
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