Fried (Formerly) Green Tomatoes with Sriracha Mayo Dip

Alan’s cousin was a doll to bring me a bag of green tomatoes from the farmers’ market.  She knew about my years long desire to make fried green tomatoes, partly because I had never had them before and partly because I’ve always liked Fried Green Tomatoes, the movie.  Towanda!  “Face it girls.  I’m older and I have more insurance.” I had been keeping my eye out for green tomatoes the last few years but never found any.
  

Green tomatoes are simply unripened tomatoes, which I didn’t know until recently.  Unfortunately, since it took me a week to get around to making my fried green tomatoes, the ripening process forced me to make fried reddish tomatoes.  It’s ok though because when fried up, they were still hot, crunchy and juicy which I’m assuming would be the case with green tomatoes.  This fried green tomato recipe (adapted from Amanda Hesser’s recipe, link above) is one of my favorites of all the recipes I’ve made in the last few years.  These are good enough to make you yell “goddamn!” in your kitchen all alone.  I almost made the cat try some because they were so impressive.  Luckily Alan came home in time to sample them.  

I added a Sriracha mayo because I like spicy everything and I think that anything fried should be served with a cooling condiment.  If you can’t find green tomatoes at your farmers' market, try to find not-so-ripe beefsteak tomatoes.  Don’t use ripe tomatoes, as they’ll be too juicy and will turn mushy, losing their crunchy coating. 

RECIPE (adapted from Amanda Hesser’s Fried Green Tomatoes with Panko and Parmesan recipe on Food52)

Serves 3

For the Mayo Dip:

4 tablespoons good mayonnaise
Sriracha hot sauce, to taste
Dash of white vinegar
Pinch of coarse salt, to taste

For the Tomatoes:

2 medium green tomatoes (or underripe beefsteak tomatoes), cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
Coarse salt
Sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (or regular bread crumbs)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more if needed

1.  Prepare your mayo dip by mixing the mayo, hot sauce, vinegar and salt in a small bowl.  Cover it and put it in the fridge while you fry your tomatoes.

2.  Lay the tomato slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with both salt and sugar. Turn over the slices and season the other sides. Let sit for 15-30 minutes.
 

3.  Add the beaten egg to a wide shallow bowl. Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in another wide shallow bowl. Set them near the stove. Blot the tomato slices on both sides firmly with paper towels, drying them well. Season the slices again with a little salt. Working one at a time, dip the tomatoes in egg, then the breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture. Press and pat the breadcrumbs into the tomatoes really firmly. Set the tomatoes on a clean, dry baking sheet.
 

4.  Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil and butter. When the foam subsides, add the tomatoes, enough to cover the base of the pan in a single layer. Let them sit for a few minutes.  When you see browning on the edges, check the tomatoes. You want a deep brown crust. Flip them and brown the other side.
 

5.  Work in batches, adding more oil and butter to the pan as needed, and transfer the tomatoes to a serving dish.  Serve immediately with the cool mayo dip.

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