One of my favorite Southern foods is fried green tomatoes. Truly, sometimes I think I was born in the wrong part of the country. I love Southern food.
I thought about making these because our tomato plants are on their last legs, and this is the time of year we have a lot of green tomatoes to use. We also recently watched the movie Fried Green Tomatoes with Kathy Bates. Great movie from 1991 based on a book by Fannie Flagg. Favorite quote, “That frying pan did more than fry chicken that night.”Â
There is some debate about whether or not to coat the green tomato slices in flour or in cornmeal or in a combination of the two. I do not dislike cornmeal, but my favorite fried green tomatoes are dredged in flour alone. For the record, this is Paula Deen’s favorite way to fry them, too. So, it can’t be all wrong.
When we went to Tybee Island a few years ago on vacation, we stayed in Nashville overnight. As is our custom, we asked for a referral to a local joint for dinner. On this occasion, we were referred to a diner that was quite literally housed in a falling down little white shack. A little white shack whose parking lot was filled with high end cars. The place was packed, and it is there that we had some of the best fried green tomatoes I have ever eaten. They served them with Jalapeño Garlic Aioli. Heaven on a plate.
Wish I could remember the name of the place. But I can’t.
So, after some experimentation and taking parts of various recipes for fried green tomatoes, I have come up with a close approximation to the ones we ate in Tennessee and that I dream about from time to time.
Jalape̱o Garlic Aioli Рfour ingredients.
Make the aioli first so the flavors have time to get nicely combined. This sauce is great with fried green tomatoes, but would also be good to use to dip some fresh vegetables. It has a nice little kick. If you can handle the heat, leave in some of the seeds and membrane from the pepper.
One jalapeño pepper cleaned. Remove stem, seeds, and membranes and dice. One garlic clove, minced. Combine with the mayonnaise and sour cream in either a blender or food processor. Refrigerate.
Fried Green Tomatoes ingredients. Don’t those tomato slices look lovely?
Slice the tomatoes about ½ inch thick. Salt and pepper both sides and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes so that the moisture in the tomatoes comes out.
Prepare two bowls for dredging the tomato slices. One with the egg and milk and the other with the flour and spices.
Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Dredge the tomato slices in the egg mixture, then in the flour mixture, and fry, in small batches, until golden brown on both sides. It will take from one to two minutes or so per side.
Dredge the tomatoes in the flour mixture immediately before frying. Do not coat and allow to sit or the flour will turn gummy and pasty from the moisture in the tomatoes.
Allow the fried green tomatoes to drain on paper towels.
Serve warm with the Jalapeño Garlic Aioli.
And your favorite cold beverage.
Yummy.
Fried Green Tomatoes with Jalapeño Garlic Aioli Serves 4 to 6 as appetizers Jalapeño Garlic Aioli: Clean the jalapeño pepper by removing the stem, seeds, and membrane. Dice. Mince the garlic. Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, diced jalapeño pepper, and minced garlic to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Fried Green Tomatoes: Salt and pepper the green tomato slices and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the natural moisture to release from the tomatoes. Combine the flour, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika in a bowl suitable for dredging. Combine the egg and milk in another bowl suitable for dredging. In a large skillet, heat several tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium to medium high heat. Dredge the tomato slices in the egg and milk mixture and coat liberally on both sides with the flour mixture. Fry in small batches, adding additional oil as necessary, until golden brown on each side about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain fried green tomatoes on paper towels. Serve warm with Jalapeño Garlic Aioli.
1 jalapeño pepper
1 clove garlic
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
4 green tomatoes, sliced about ½ inch thick
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 cup self rising flour
1½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp paprika
1 egg
¼ cup milk
Vegetable oil, for frying
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