Green Infatuation

The last time I wrote about tomatoes, I mentioned that I've always wanted to try Fried Green Tomatoes. Of course, many people are familiar with either Fannie Flagg's book, "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" or its tear-jerking movie adaptation. Both are responsible for bringing worldwide awareness of the eponymous dish.

Some Googling confirmed for me that the recipe does indeed call for green, unripe tomatoes rather than the tomatillo fruit. In northern climates such as ours, green tomatoes are ready for harvesting in October -- right now! -- but in the south where this recipe originated, green tomatoes are available year round.

Imagine my excitement when I found Ontario green tomatoes at the neighborhood grocery. I ran home and made some batter right away, mixing flour, finely ground cornmeal, salt, pepper and milk (lactose free, in case you were wondering). Tomato slices were dredged through the batter and fried for a few minutes on each side in a skillet with oil.

It was love at first bite. I've never tasted anything like it before. The green tomato by itself is crispy and tart, like a green apple. But when softened by the heat and enveloped in the sweet batter -- the sweetness coming from the cornmeal and milk -- the residual tartness blooms into something more delicate, more mellow. My instinct was to season it with a modest sprinkling of salt.

I also found myself wishing I had some sour cream, crème fraîche or something cool and alkaline to complement the tomato. As it turns out, the Juliette, GA cafe where the movie was filmed is now calling itself the "Whistle Stop Cafe" and serves its own version of fried green tomatoes with a selection of dips.

For as long as green tomatoes are around this season, I'd love to keep making this dish. There's room for experimentation with the batter and accompanying condiments. Dredging the slices in egg then in a dry mixture could yield a crisper, less oily exterior. Japanese panko would make it more like a tempura batter. Using more cornmeal would make the batter more crunchy. Herbs and spices in the batter would be fun too. Stay tuned.