Fried Green Tomatoes

When I was growing up my mother would occasionally fry green tomatoes and eat them with scrambled eggs and ketchup. I don’t recall that she tried to entice us into trying them as they are tangy and probably not exactly appealing to a child’s palate. She was probably making them in early fall when there was a chance that all the tomatoes on the vine would not ripen before a frost. She would slice the tomatoes, dip them in egg, then flour, and fry them. When I tried to make them I found that the flour did not adhere to the tomatoes and they were not terribly appetizing. I was not to be deterred though. This morning I had to visit three farm stands before I found green tomatoes. I didn’t really have a plan as to how I was going to alter the recipe, but I had the good fortune to start up a conversation with the proprietor of the stand. She suggested using bread crumbs instead of flour and butter instead of the corn oil that I had been using. She was right! The bread crumbs add crunch and nicely balance the tanginess of the tomato.

Recipe

Ingredients

2 green tomatoes

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs

1-2 T. butter

Directions

Use a serrated knife to cut the tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Set out two dinner plates. Whisk the egg on one of that plates. Place the bread crumbs on the other. Heat a fry pan over medium heat that will hold all the tomato slices. Dip your tomato slices in egg and then bread crumbs. Melt the butter. Place tomatoes in pan. Flip when golden. Cooking time should be under five minutes.