Fried Green Tomatoes! Tutorial
Back to beloved southern foods! This is the prime time of year for fried green tomatoes. All of our grocery stores sell green ones alongside the red for this very purpose (green tomatoes are like rocks so I can't imagine them being used for anything else). Another weird cultural thing, but I imagine it stemmed from the whole "dang yankees trying to starve us" issue back in the days of old.
Did you know why turnip greens and field peas (black eyed peas) are so revered in the south? During the civil war, yankee troops confiscated anything that could possibly be used to feed their men as they traveled through the south. However, greens and field peas were considered only fit for animal fodder, so they were left. Being the food lovers that we are, those foods became something of delicacies for us and are absolutely required at every family table on New Years Day in order to bring luck and wealth in the new year.
Dumplings and biscuits came into play because even with money low, most families had flour. Flour was purchased in twenty five pound sacks, five times the normal sized bag we all get today. Therefore, it was usually about the only thing available to make a meal stretch. You can take a scrawny chicken, shred it and cook in broth with a big batch of dumplings and easily stretch the meal to feed even a large family. Biscuits are quick and easy to make and also very filling. Each of these meals would require little or no meat and leave the family full until the next mealtime.
Alright, enough of my cultural foods lesson, lets get on to tomatoes :).
What you'll need: A little flour (self rising or plain, doesn't matter), corn meal, season all, and green tomatoes.Also oil for frying and a little milk for dredging. (White Lily makes corn meal too!)
What is sad is, my kids don't actually eat fried green tomatoes. So I ate one slice of these and they will sit on my counter until they get cold and then I'll finally throw the rest away. ~le sigh~
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Try fried green tomatoes!! They are heavenly. I guarantee your mom will love them! We were starving ya see (them dang yankees) and couldn't wait on them to ripen......
Thanks for the history lesson. I love learning that kind of stuff. 8:-)
These sound delicious!
Why do you have to throw them away, though?
Well, I don't know what state you're from, but in Arkansas, we pickle green tomatoes. I actually live in Idaho now, but I still put up a huge batch of pickled green tomatoes every year. I don't know what else you'd want with fried catfish, but maybe that's just me.
I also use green tomatoes for a green tomato ketchup (very tangy and good) and a green tomato cake. And, naturally, I also fry them. It's a major reason I keep a garden.
Also, I don't understand what biscuits are. I've heard of biscuits and gravy. *shudder*. Over here our biscuit is your cookie.
It amazes me that people don't know what biscuits are, even in some parts of the US! We have them every day. Every fast food place (McDonald's, Burger King, Hardees, etc) sells nothing but biscuits in the mornings. Sausage biscuits, Ham biscuits, Bacon and egg biscuits...I suppose we do them similar to how you would do an english muffin? We bake them and cut them in half and make sort of a sandwich with fillers. Southerners also eat them with gravy, molasses, butter or jam. A lot of restaurants here, when you sit down, bring you a big platter of biscuits and jelly. If you're lucky, you get apple butter .......YUM!.
Hi Mah, I've made the FGT four times so far. The first was a bit of a failure because the oil was too hot but the next batches worked well. I made them for friends, who were a bit perplexed at first but liked them. There wasn't a great deal of flavour to them so I served them with stronger flavours like bacon and (English) black pudding, which is as black as midnight and is made mostly of pigs blood (sometimes known as blood sausage or, less commonly, bloodwurst).
To say thanks for sharing here's The Borg's World Famous Sticky Date Pudding. This is the best-ever version and is really easy to make.
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
500g pitted dates, cut in halves (no smaller)*1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 400ml water 150g butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs 2 cups self-raising flour Caramel sauce 1 ¾ cups of brown sugar 500ml thickened cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 100g butterMethod
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of a 10cm deep, 26cm (base) cake pan. Place dates into a pot and pour in water. Bring to boil and reduce immediately. Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add bicarb (it will foam) and stir very thoroughly for a few seconds before removing the pot from the heat.Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and combine well. Using a large wooden spoon, fold through date mixture. **Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out almost clean. *** Pierce the pudding all over with a skewer. Pour one cup of warm sauce over the pudding and return to the oven for five minutes. The sauce may boil a little, which is fine. Once it has soaked into the pudding, add another cup and return to the oven for a final five minutes.To make the sauce combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until sauce comes to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 minutes. Cut into wedges. Serve with remaining sauce. Add a little whipped cream and some strawberry or raspberry coulis (or very good quality jam, slightly heated).****Notes:
* For the best result do not cut the dates into small pieces. They tend to disintegrate if too small and the distinctive flavour and texture is lost. Cutting them in halves also ensures the water can get in and release the flavour.
** Some cookbooks say never to add the hot water and dates to the cake mixture. I’ve found it makes no difference.
*** It’s best not to completely cook the cake before adding the sauce. The cake will not absorb the sauce as well and may turn out dry after the additional ten minutes of cooking time.
**** Grilled or pan-fried banana is also a great accompaniment. If there is any leftover pudding or the cake has been overcooked and is too dry, be adventurous. On a slice of fresh bread, toast, or banana bread spread out some of the pudding (warmed) and add some grilled banana and bacon, and a little maple syrup.
This recipe can be doubled if you need more pudding or a higher chance of clogged arteries. Dates can be replaced by good quality un-sugar-coated glace ginger (not fresh!).
This pudding is not suitable to freeze. To reheat, place in a microwave on high for one minute.