Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes
By Sal

• Green tomatoes
• Seasoned salad croutons
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Eggs
• Olive oil
• Fresh garlic, crushed
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt & pepper

Note: quantities will depend on how many tomatoes you have. As an example, for 4 medium-sized tomatoes, you’ll need 2 eggs, 2 cloves garlic, about 1 ½ cups crouton crumbs and a quarter-cup parmesan cheese.

Choose firm, unblemished green tomatoes.

Remove stem end and bottom end and discard. Slice about ½ inch thick.

Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place croutons In a Ziploc bag and crush using a small pot, large bottle, rolling pin, etc. Move to a shallow bowl. Add parmesan cheese and blend well.

In another shallow bowl, beat eggs. Add crushed garlic, salt, pepper and a dash or two of red pepper flakes.

In a skillet, heat some olive oil gently. Don’t let it smoke.

Dip a tomato slice in egg, then crouton crumbs, then into the pan. Repeat until pan is full, but don’t crowd them, or they’ll have trouble browning.

Fry 5 – 7 minutes, uncovered, until golden. Flip and fry the other side. If the oil or breadcrumbs are burning, the heat’s too high. When done they will piece easily with a fork but not be mushy.

Move fried tomatoes to a plate lined with paper towels or newspaper.

Repeat until the tomatoes are finished. You will need to add about a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan with each tomato addition. Swirl the pan to get them well coated.

It sounds crazy but they go really well with hot pepper jam. The sweetness of the jam is the perfect foil for the tartness of the tomatoes.