Fried Green Tomatoes with "Remoulade"

A couple of months ago, my sister Becca and I made fried green tomatoes with a remoulade-type sauce for brunch. It was our first time making them, but thought they came out pretty well. We followed a fantastic recipe from Simply Recipes, complete with a remoulade. I'm sure they would have been even better had we followed it exactly. (We didn't have any Cajun seasoning nor Creole mustard.) Nonetheless, they were as good or better than what I've sampled in my life thus far.

See our adaptation of the recipe after the jump. 

Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 as a side dish.

*If you can find it, use fine white cornmeal, which is the primary cornmeal used in the South.

**Buttermilk adds flavor and tang, but is not strictly necessary.

 

3 medium, firm green tomatoes

Salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (optional) or paprika

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

1 egg

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs or panko

1/4 cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil

1) Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. 

2) Sprinkle slices with salt. 

3) Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes. 

4) Meanwhile, place in separate shallow bowls: the flour and Cajun seasoning (if using) or paprika, buttermilk and egg, and bread crumbs and cornmeal.

5) Heat the peanut oil in a skillet on medium heat. 

6) Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. 

7) Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. 

8) In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. 

9) Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain.

***These are fantastic with a little Tabasco sauce or remoulade.

  

"Remoulade" Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

* If you don't have any pickle juice on hand, use a little lemon juice or vinegar.

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup whole grain mustard (Creole mustard if possible)

1 Tbsp sweet paprika

1-2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon pickle juice (dill or sweet, your preference)

1 teaspoon hot sauce (preferably Tabasco)

1 large clove garlic, grated minced and smashed

1) Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.

**The remoulade is better if left for a few hours to let the flavors meld. 

***Keep refrigerated.