Fried Green Tomatoes

I learned a bit more about unripe green tomatoes this past week.  I learned you could ask a farmer to bring you some green tomatoes to the local farmers market.  I also learned you don’t necessarily need a garden to grow tomatoes, you could grow them in a pot.

Although I had no luck last week finding green tomatoes at the farmer’s market, a friend of mine  was able to find them at the San Leandro farmer’s market.  She picked up some for me, so this was a good excuse to make fried green tomatoes sooner than later. 

My niece Ashley hates tomatoes, but she was going to be a good sport and help me make the fried green tomatoes.  We were going to borrow the recipe from the Neely’s for the tomatoes and borrow a recipe from Epicurious.com for a garlic lemon aioli.  

Preparation
Slice green tomatoes ¼ inch thick and add salt and pepper
Mix ¾ cup flour and 1 tsp of garlic powder into a bowl
Beat 4 eggs and 2 tbsp milk into a bowl
Mix 1 ½ cup panko bread crumbs with a pinch of paprika
Heat oil in a deep flyer or pot to about 350 degrees

Directions
Line up all the bowls and take the tomatoes, dip it into the flour mixture, then place it into the egg mixture, and then dip it into the panko.  Taking a few at a time, slowly place it in the hot oil for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Flip them over with some tongs a few times.  When golden brown, remove them from the oil and drain onto paper towels.

Making the Aioli
Mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with 5 garlic cloves, the juice of ½ lemon, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp of hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste.   

Finishing Up the Dish
Plate the tomatoes and top with the garlic lemon aioli and chopped scallions.

The fried green tomatoes were actually quite easy to make, but messy to clean up.  They came out delicious and were very similar to the ones I had at Pizzaiola recently.  Even Ashley gave them a try and loved them, especially with the aioli.

Just for fun, I decided to re-watch the 1991 film with Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Mary-Louise Parker.  Fried green tomatoes is definitely a dish you would enjoy best with good friends. 

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