Fried Green Tomatoes

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for some time. But, end of the summer activities just seemed to take over my life. I’m not complaining—it was all fun.

We loaded up the truck with clothes, a fridge, and various gear and got my son back to college life. We enjoyed a beautiful Labor Day weekend at the beach and had the pleasure of sharing in the engagement celebration of a young couple who are friends of my niece. We joined neighborhood friends for a Labor Day dinner. The finale—a weekend at Pawleys Island. What a beautiful, serene place with lovely people who were nice enough to share it with us.

My life is not always so wonderfully active. Sometimes it’s just active with work and chores and other must-do type things. You know, just regular life. Now that my wonderful end of the summer whirlwind is over it’s back to normalcy.

I made Fried Green Tomatoes just before all this fun began but never had the time to share the recipe.

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year but the weather didn’t permit them to all ripen. So, fried green tomatoes it was. You might think the tomatoes would be hard and tart because that’s how they look. Not to worry—they transform in the frying pan. The heat from the cooking softens them and brings out a subtle tomato flavor.

Hopefully you have a few more on the vine so you can try this. If not, just tag it for next year’s tomatoes. They’re easy, delicious, and different. I think you’ll enjoy them.

Fried Green Tomatoes

2 green tomatoes

½ cup milk substitute (rice, hemp, or soy milk)

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup cornmeal

½ cup gluten free breadcrumbs

½ teaspoon each salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon paprika

1 ½ teaspoons chopped or dry parsley

vegetable and olive oil for frying

Set out two small glass pie plates. Place the milk substitute and olive oil in one and all the dry ingredients—cornmeal, GF breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, paprika and parsley—in the other.

Whisk the “milk” and olive oil together. Then, in the other dish, mix the dry ingredients with a fork.

Heat about ¼ inch vegetable oil in a cast iron frying pan over medium high heat. I like to use canola or grapeseed oil with a few tablespoons of olive oil for taste.

Slice the tomatoes into ¼ inch slices. Dip them first in the “milk”/olive oil mixture and then in the corn flour/breadcrumb mixture coating both sides thoroughly.

Place each round carefully into the hot oil. Fry for a minute or so until one side is brown then gently flip it over and brown the other side. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Don’t overcrowd the frying pan and be sure to add more oil if necessary in later batches. If you don’t keep the oil level high enough they will have a tendency burn.

Serve the tomatoes warm.

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Maple Corn Fritters

I spent some time with Mother Nature this summer and she let me in on a little secret. If you eat local and in season, she gets to pick what’s on the menu. True.

Before being part of a CSA I bought whatever I fancied at the grocery store. My vegetable experience was only a little different season to season. Of course, I bought local tomatoes and corn in season but for the most part just availed myself of anything on the grocer’s shelves. This year was a new experience since the farmer and Mother Nature chose what veggies I’d be eating.

I’ve learned to cook and eat what’s ripe. You eat beets when you get them even if they’re availalble every week. (I won’t lie—I’ve given plenty of them to friends and neighbors because we can only eat so many beets.). For the past few weeks we’ve gotten zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants and other types of squash. We eat them grilled or in ratatouille. I’m freezing whatever I can’t eat now.

Right now the corn is ripe in New Jersey. There were three ears in this week’s bounty—three very pitiful ears of corn courtesy of our wet, rainy, sun-challenged summer. But, there was enough for a batch of corn fritters.

So that’s what you’re getting this week folks. Corn fritters. We had them for this morning’s breakfast sweetened with maple syrup—in the batter and drizzled on top. It made for a nice Sunday morning at our house.

Maple Corn Fritters

1 ½ teaspoons EnerG Egg Replacer

4 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons diced onion

Vegetable oil – canola or grapeseed work well

¼ cup sorghum flour

5/8 cup finely ground corn flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of cinnamon (optional)

½ cup coconut milk or alternative (soy, rice, etc.)

1 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 to 1 ½ cups corn kernels

Make the egg replacer according to the directions on the box—mix 1 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer with two tablespoons warm water. Stir until smooth and let sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add a tablespoon or two of the oil—enough to sauté the onions. When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until translucent. Some of them will brown which is OK. You don’t want the onion to burn.

Remove the onions with a slotted spoon to a dish lined with a paper towel. Set aside. Add more oil, enough so there is about a ¼ inch in the skillet. Raise the burner to medium high to bring the oil up to temperature. Do not leave unattended.

Whisk the flours, salt, and baking powder and cinnamon (if you choose to use it) in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl combine the egg replacer, coconut milk, maple syrup and two remaining tablespoons of water. Add this to the flour and combine to form a batter. Add in the onions and the corn. Mix well.

Drop by large spoonfuls into the hot oil. Turn each after a few minutes—the underside should be nicely browned. When the second side is browned remove fritters to a dish and serve with maple syrup. Makes about 10-12 fritters.

A few notes:

I used fresh corn on the cob. Placed three ears in the microwave (with husks and silk still attached) for 3 minutes. Removed and cooled, then husked the corn and cut the kernels from the cob. Three small ears yielded 1 cup. Although this was enough corn for the recipe I would have preferred more so would increase it to 1½ cups next time.

You may need to add more oil about halfway through cooking. The fritters will have a tendency to burn if you do not keep the oil level high enough.

You can remove some of the residual oil from the fritters after they are cooked if you line the receiving plate with a paper towel.

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