SkinnyCook

Fried green tomatoes… not the movie, mind you, the delicious creation of southerners who were too poor to let anything go to waste. My grandmother made them every fall when I was a child. I didn’t like them then, but as you do as you get older, I’ve reconsidered much of her wisdom. So, when faced with a bowl full of green tomatoes from the last harvest of this fall, I called up Granny for her recipe. It turned out to be dead simple. As with many of my favorite foods, it’s all in the technique.

Secrets of your success

• Use an iron skillet

I don’t know if it’s really important or not, but it just feels right.

• Keep it medium, the heat that is.

The only trick to getting amazing results is to cook the tomatoes through without burning the cornmeal crust. You want them to be not too firm, not too soggy. Having the right amount of heat is key to getting them just right.

Recipe

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tbls. flour
green tomatoes, sliced 3/16″ thick
oil

Mix flour and cornmeal together on a plate. Dredge the tomatoes right before putting in the skillet. Fry each side for 7-9 minutes in a generous amount of oil. Resist temptation to turn them over to check for doneness. The more you turn them, the more the cornmeal crust will fall apart. Drain on paper towels and add pinch of salt on top before serving.

I served them with some good ole’ mayonaise-y slaw and some fried fish. Add a glass of sweet iced tea for southern’s idea of perfection.