Oven Fried Green Tomatoes

I'm not picky about many foods, but fried green tomatoes one of a few exceptions. I love them, but I want them done right. A year or so ago, I got really tired of the mess from frying them, so I started experimenting with oven "frying" them. It took a few tries, but it really works well. You may have to do this in small batches and do taste tests to get the seasoning exactly the way you like it. But that is the fun part! The recipe below is for a small batch; double it, triple it, or whatever for more! These are a wonderful, healthier, cleaner, easier (!) substitute to messy frying that keeps all of the tart, crisp, fried flavor. Enjoy! And let us know what you think at thesoutherndish@gmail.com!

Oven Fried Green Tomatoes
1 medium green tomato, cut into 1-4 to 1/2-inch slices (I like thinner ones)
1/4 c. flax seed meal (ground flax seeds - available in most major grocery stores)
1/4 c. non-sweet cereal such as or corn flakes or high-fiber cereal finely crushed to consistency of breadcrumbs
1 1/2 T. cornmeal
1 egg lightly beaten
2 T. buttermilk
1/4 t. -1/2 t. salt
1/8 - 1/4 t. garlic powder, or to taste
1/8 - 1/4 t. onion powder, or to taste
hearty dash of black pepper
nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the ground flax seeds, crushed cereal, cornmeal, and spices in a bowl with a lid. Shake well. Combine egg and buttermilk. Dip a tomato slice in the milk / egg mixture, and let excess drip off. Coat the slice well with the dry mixture. Remove the slice and set aside, and then repeat with the remaining slices. If you want a heavier batter, repeat the dipping / coating process a second time.

Arrange the slices on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly spray the tomato slices with cooking spray. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, flipping the slices about halfway through cooking and lightly spraying again after you flip them. Tomatoes are done when the outside is crisp.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Last night, the temperature dropped to 38 degrees here, so I picked all of my remaining heirloom tomatoes. Of course, they were green as grass, so, being the good Southern woman that I am, I fried 'em.

It seems almost silly to put a recipe for fried green tomatoes on this site; I'm sure many of us who love Southern cooking know how to do it. On the other hand, it seems almost sacrilegious to have a Southern food site without them. So here's my recipe, if you can call it that. Every time I make my fried greens, I remember an actual debate my grandmother and I had about whether flour or cornmeal is the way to go. (For the record, she says all flour; I like a mixture of both.) So here's the way I do it, and I've included a note at the end of the recipe for a few ways to add some nutritional value to these Southern delicacies without changing the taste at all. Tell us how you fry your tomatoes. Maybe you have the best way.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Green tomatoes, sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices, with no redness at all if you want them nicely tart
1/2 cup flour (or 1 cup and no cornmeal if you're my grandmother)
1/2 cup cornmeal
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil

Pour enough oil in a skillet (preferably iron) cover the bottom. Heat to medium-high temp. Mix the flour, cornmeal, and generous sprinkles of salt and pepper. (You can always add more after they're cooked.) Dredge the tomato slices in the flour mixture, coating both sides. Shake gently to remove excess. Brown both sides quickly in the hot oil until barely soft. Two minutes or so per side is usually a good guess. Remember that they will continue to cook a little after you remove them from the grease. When both sides are browned, you'll need to drain the grease off the cooked tomatoes to keep them from getting soggy. I like to stand them up between the slats of a wire cooling rack that I place over a cookie sheet. Or you can place them on a thick layer of paper towels. Add more oil as needed between batches. You want enough in there to come half way up the tomato slices. And add a little more salt and/or pepper to the flour mixture for subsequent batches if you don't feel the "taste batch" is seasoned enough. (NOTE: some people dip their tomatoes in an egg wash - egg or egg whites with a few tablespoons of water added. That makes a thick batter once you dredge them in the flour mixture that, to me, overwhelms the wonderful tartness of the tomatoes. If you make them my way and find yourself longing for more batter, try dipping the slices in an egg wash and then dredging them in the flour mixture and cooking the same way.)

To add a bit of quasi-nutrition: I use 1/3 c. flour, 1/3 c. locally ground Red Mule corn meal, and 1/3 c. ground flax seed, and, using the above method, cook them in Smart Balance Oil which purports to contain healthful omega fatty acids. Then I can call them health food : )