Fried Green Tomatoes

Hello again! It has been almost a year to date since the last time I have made a blog post. It was actually the day after I graduated that I made my last post. My life got a lot busier once I began working full-time, so I wasn’t dedicating as much time to cooking and blogging about it as I had before (a lot of the meals I have cooked recently can be found on my Instagram story highlights, though)… but I’m ready to jump back in with this delicious fried green tomatoes recipe!

I love fried green tomatoes! I always have. Recently, I was really inspired by a way that a restaurant topped their fried green tomatoes appetizer. I can’t remember exactly everything that they served with it, but what really stood out was the addition of a balsamic reduction and feta cheese. So of course, I had to start topping my fried green tomatoes the same way. I love the sweetness that come from the honey in the balsamic reduction, and the saltiness of the feta cheese. It really compliments the fried green tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 3 large green tomatoes, or 5 small
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 cup of flour
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• 1/2 cup of medium or fine grind cornmeal (Note: I really enjoy the medium grind cornmeal, because I think that it provides a really nice crunch, but if it’s too gritty or tough for you, use fine grind.)
• 1/2 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp of honey (Note: for a slightly less sweet balsamic reduction, use 1 tbsp.)

Directions:

1. Slice tomatoes into 1/4″ to 1/2″ slices (Note: the thinner the slice, the softer the tomato will be once fried).
2. Preheat a deep skillet with about 1″ of canola oil. Alternatively, you can use a deep fryer with oil heated to 375°F.
3. In a small pot, over medium heat, whisk together balsamic vinegar and honey. Let it come to a low boil and continue to simmer until it reduces by half. Once reduced, remove from heat. (This is a good thing to do while prepping your other ingredients, but keep an eye on it!)
4. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. In a bowl or on a plate, stir together flour with sea salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl or on a plate, stir together seasoned breadcrumbs and cornmeal.
5. Coat the tomatoes in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip the tomatoes in the egg, letting the excess drip off. Dredge the tomatoes in cornmeal/breadcrumb mix, lightly pressing the mix onto the tomato and letting any excess fall off.
6. Place tomato in your preheated oil. You will know the oil is hot enough when you drop a couple of breadcrumbs into the oil, and it begins to sizzle. Fry the tomatoes for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, flipping every so often to ensure that they cook evenly. (Note: cook time will vary depending on how hot your oil is, so keep an eye on the tomatoes while they cook.)
7. Once golden brown, remove from oil and place into a strainer lined with paper towels or on a paper towel lined wire rack.
8. Continue to repeat steps 5 through 7 in batches until you’ve finished making all of the tomatoes.
9. Plate your tomatoes, and drizzle them with the balsamic reduction (by now, it should have thickened as it has cooled). Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top & enjoy!

P.S. Crumbled goat cheese would also be fabulous on top of this as a substitution for feta, and so would grated Parmesan cheese. Honestly, most cheeses you can think of would be great, because what cheese isn’t delicious?

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