A Family Recipe with a Southwestern Kick: Fried Green Tomatoes

Wanting to get a last minute dose of sunshine before fall officially sets into the mountains of Western North Carolina, I made a last minute dash to the shores of Pawleys Island, South Carolina last weekend. This is the perfect time of year to head to the beach. I was welcomed with perfect weather, less crowded beaches, and no wait at some of South Carolina’s best restaurants. Southern food and South Carolina seafood is hard to beat. It is definitely comfort food for me!

Full of southern soul food spirit, I made these delicious fried green tomatoes last night and wanted to share this recipe with you!

This recipe came from a Secret Ingredients family cookbook I created last spring. It adds a nice southwestern kick to a southern staple! I demonstrated this recipe on the local news in Asheville, NC in July. Not only did the audience love the creativity behind this recipe, but the crew gladly cleaned my plates!

Perfect Southwestern Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
5 tomatoes
1 cup milk
½ cup flour
½ cup yellow corn meal
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground chipotle
2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: flour, corn meal, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, chipotle, and salt. Pour the milk into a separate bowl.

Slice the tomatoes about 1/3” thick. Only keep the pretty, center slices and discard the tops and bottoms.

Cover a large skillet (12-inch) with a thin layer of olive oil. Heat it on medium until hot but not smoking.

Dip your tomato slices into the milk, and then cover them in the dry ingredient mixture. Pat the mixture around them until they are well covered.

Place them in the pan and fry. Resist the temptation to flip them until you see the edges begin to curl slightly up. This will help keep the breading on the tomatoes.

When fried to a lovely golden brown color on both sides, remove from the oil to a paper towel. Repeat with the rest of the tomato slices!

To make a napoleon (2 choices):

1. Add sour cream between each layer of tomatoes. Top with salsa and cilantro.
2. Add goat cheese (heat slightly so spreadable). Top with green salsa.




Note: Your tomatoes do NOT have to be green, but they do need to be hard! Buy the hardest tomatoes you can find!


You will find this recipe in our Stock Pot. Give the recipe a try. I think you’ll find that it is a crowd-pleaser- hands down! Also, feel free to add it to your cookbook project. For instructions on adding Stock Pot recipes to your cookbook project, click here.