I’ve been craving them for the past couple of weeks, it’s not something I make often as I don’t always have the time or the energy to make them, and depending on the season green tomatoes are not always in stock.

This is probably one of my all-time favorite comfort foods alongside a plate of spaghetti and my own homemade cheesecake. It all started many years ago when I watched the film Fried Green Tomatoes, one of my favorite films. After watching that I really wanted to give the southern food a try so I started searching for recipes.

There really are so many ways to cook fried green tomatoes, some recipes are breaded with breadcrumbs, some are dipped in batter and then deep-fried, some are coated with flour or cornmeal. I have tried various kinds and eventually, I found a recipe that I tweaked to make it to my own tastes.

For me, I only coat the green tomato slices with cornmeal using an egg wash and lightly saute them in olive oil instead of deep-frying them. Not only do they taste amazing when cooked in olive oil but it’s also a lot healthier than deep-frying or coating them in flour.

I don’t really have measurements as I tend to eyeball it when I’m making my mixture but in case you guys want to try it my recipe here it is.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium to large green tomatoes
• About a cup and half of fine yellow cornmeal
• About a 1/2 tablespoon of ground red pepper
• Ground black pepper and salt to taste (I found that using Pure Kosher salt makes a difference when it comes to flavor, I don’t feel I get the same taste with regular table salt)
• About a couple of eggs, beaten add a tablespoon of water.

Instructions:

1. Mix the cornmeal, ground red pepper, ground black pepper, and salt.
2. Slice the tomatoes, slices should be thick (about 1/3 of an inch) on average I tend to get about 4 slices per tomato sometimes 5 if they are big.
3. Whatever is easiest for you, coat each slice in a thin layer of the egg wash (I just dip them in the wash) and then lightly coat the slice with the cornmeal mixture.
4. In a large skillet pour in just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. set the heat and Medium-high.
5. To cook the tomatoes they will need to lay flat in the skillet, with my large skillet I can do them in batches of about 5 to six slices, smaller skillets might not fit as much. I usually swap out the olive oil for fresh oil after about 2 or 3 batches.
6. Cook each side of the slice until the cornmeal just starts to turn a golden brown color, it honestly cooks pretty quickly and can take less than a minute before you need to flip them. Make sure to keep an eye on them as they can overcook quickly.
7. Put cooked slices on a plate with a sheet of paper towels to drain the excess oil.

Finish it up: To serve them is really up to you, I typically do not like dipping them in any sauces, I just sprinkle a pinch of salt on them and chow down, some people prefer to eat them with a sauce, I heard a tangy sauce goes well with it, or something with a little bit of a kick.