Mamapedia City Voices highlights the inside scoop on your city by selected writers, from up-and-coming mom bloggers to well-known mom experts.
Double Duty: Think Green...Tomatoes!
How many vegetables do you know that have multiple lives? As in; 2 separate flavors, separate textures, separate tastes and colors. I’m referring to the tomato. Wow, so many things to do with the red tomato but what about the green tomato? The green tomato is under appreciated, gardeners watching as it grows and wondering when it will turn a perfect red. How about some fried green tomatoes? We live in Maryland so tomatoes are a big part of our lives. Our tomato vines sit in perfect sight, always inviting us to pick a few as they turn multiple colors. Last week I picked a bunch of green tomatoes, breaded them, fried them and then I added an imperial white sauce and some lump crab meat. The raves quickly followed and I knew a summer tradition was born!
Your recipe doesn’t need the imperial sauce and crab meat, the fried green tomatoes alone have enough flavor to be appreciated.
Instead of red think green, try something different and extremely tasty. Let the fried green tomato be the highlight of your next cookout!
Julie has been married to her very supportive husband for 6 years, and they have a 2.5 year old and an 8 month old. The most fun she has is playing with her children. She also enjoys writing, reading, running and many crafty things.
Editor’s Note: Thank you readers for asking for the recipes! Julie has graciously shared them below.
- Warning; if cooking with small children in the house, have someone help out watching them, this recipe has a few elements to it and they all seem to take place in close proximity.
FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1) Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes.
In 4 separate shallow dishes place the flour, milk, eggs and bread crumbs.
2) Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs then bread crumbs. In the
skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side until brown. Add olive oil as needed as you
cook the remaining tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
IMPERIAL WHITE SAUCE
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, cook until thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
Add a spoonful over fried green tomato (more or less as desired).
Then throw some lump crab meat over top of the tomato. (I purchased 1 lb.) Enjoy!
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Tati, August 13, 2009
I've never tried green tomatoes, but you certainly make them sound appealing! Check out these great tomato recipes: http://hubpages.com/hub/Tomatoes3Ways.
Betty Oliver, August 13, 2009
I love Fried Green Tomatoes. Of course, I try to make them as healthy as possible. I dip my green tomatoes in egg, then italian bread crumbs and fry in olive oil. Once I drain them, I place them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with parmesan and a little mozzarella and run them under the broiler. Hmmmmm! Delicious! If you like pasta salad, they are great to chop into the pasta and the green adds more color. That's the great thing about pasta salad, you can add any vegetable and make it work...
Jennifer, August 13, 2009
Julie - Could you post a recipe for the sauce you used, or was it a store bought sauce? It sounds so good that way, I've usually had these with no sauce (and you are right, they are good alone!) or with a red sauce.
Thanks much, Jennifer
Charlene Vaughn, August 13, 2009
Sounds scrumptous, please email me the receipe for the imperial white sauce and fried tomatoes!
Thanks
Chris P, August 13, 2009
My favorite this is to make green tomato relish. You can enjoy your tomatoes all year.
Unfortunitly, we are experincing the tomato blight, and have to distroy over 100 plants. Very sad thing to do.
Thank goodness I still have relish from last year
Caren Whatcott, August 13, 2009
I have an AWESOME recipe for Green Tomatoe Relish! It is SOOO good that a friend of mine who HATES pickle relish LOVES it!!
You would never know it is made from green tomatoes!
You can also make green tomatoe raspberry jam! It's made with Raspberry Jell-O...and again, it tastes like it has fresh raspberries in it!!
Lyn, August 13, 2009
Thanks for the memories. I love fried green tomatoes but haven't made them in years. But they never get to the table at our house. I don't like them when they have cooled so we eat them as soon as they can be eated after they come out of the frying pan.
But another versatile veggies is the yellow squash, it can be fried, boiled, sauted,baked or made into a sweet desert, pickled like bread and butter pickles. And it is healthy and yummie. Egg plant is very versatile...
Julie tess, August 13, 2009
I love this conversation. Thank you, Julie C, for initiating it. I'd only love more details to making the recipes happen! The white sauce? The Green Tomato Relish?
Amber, August 13, 2009
Peel and thinly slice green tomatoes and make an "apple pie" with them! You can use half apples and half tomatoes or all tomatoes. Add cinnamon, sugar, flour/cornstarch, and whatever else you normally put in your apple pie. Sounds crazy, but it tastes just like apple pie!
mercale, August 17, 2009
Just make sure you cook them thoroughly! Green tomatoes are poisonous until the toxin is destroyed by cooking!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato (scroll a little over half way down under the heading that says Toxicity)
