After 22 years in the same house in Omaha, Chris and I moved to downtown Omaha. It has been a whirlwind few months of cleaning out, getting rid of and just getting settled in our new place. We are in a loft with a rooftop balcony so really fun and different. We are figuring out our new normal.
Our good friends, Kathy and John, live in the same area. They have a garden and shared some of their green tomatoes with me. I have eaten Fried Green Tomatoes before but never made them. I decided to give it a shot... and they were amazing. Funny story - I have gas appliances in the new place and I have always had electric. I have set the smoke alarm off a few times. This time, the smoke alarm went off and then another other crazy loud alarm. I had both doors open and didn't have any smoke that I saw... but needless to say, the alarms were going off. We aren't hooked up to a security system.... we didn't think.... but the firemen showed up. Welcome to the Neighborhood - we are figuring out the city life!
These Fried Green Tomatoes from The Hungry Bluebird were fabulous - tangy and perfect. One of the keys is having very firm green tomatoes. I bought an awesome Louisiana Remoulade Sauce and I can only find it at our local HyVee. It was voting day and my hubby's birthday so I went for the purchased sauce and I thought it was a great addition. Chris thought the tomatoes were so good... they didn't need a sauce.
Southern Fried Green Tomatoes (adapted from The Hungry Bluebird)
4 or more firm green tomatoes, ends removed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne papper
a few shakes of hot sauce
1/2 - 1 cup vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)
1 - 2 Tbsp butter (or bacon drippings - I used butter)
kosher salt
lemon wedges, hot sauce and/or remoulade sauce for serving
If making remoulade sauce, whisk it together and place in fridge for an hour or so while making the tomatoes. Refer to The Hungry Bluebird for her home-made Remoulade Sauce. I was in a time crunch and bought Louisiana Fish Fry Remoulade Sauce and it was way yummy!
Preheat oven to 200. In a wide bowl or pie plate, combine flour, cornmeal and seasoning. In another small bowl, combine buttermilk with a few shakes of hot sauce and a little salt and pepper. Dip green tomato slice in buttermilk mixture, shake off excess, then dredge in cornmeal/flour mixture until well-coated. Repeat and put slices on plate. Heat oil/butter in a large cast iron pan - about 1/2 inch high. Butter helps with the browning. When hot, but not smoking, add tomato slices to skillet ... working in batches and fry until golden - about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer fried slices to paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with sea salt while hot. Transfer slices to a pan with a rack and keep warm in oven while continuing to fry remains slices. Serve hot green tomatoes with lemon wedges, Louisiana hot sauce and/or remoulade sauce. Enjoy.