Making the Most of the Garden: Pickled and Fried Green Tomatoes
Oct 22, 2013So, as Lilly mentioned in her last post, we had our first real freeze a couple of weeks ago which means just about everything from the garden had to come in. (In case you’re wondering, I keep the carrots and parsnips in the ground until it freezes hard because they keep better out there than in my fridge). Along with all the greens, indian corn for grinding, popcorn for popping, potatoes, zucchini, peppers, tomatillos and ripe tomatoes, I also ended up with about 15 pounds of green tomatoes.
What to do? If you’ve read my other posts, you know that I am a tomato obsessive: these overly nurtured babies started out as seeds last February, so even if they’ve not ripened they will not go to waste. In past years I’ve stuck them in a paper sack and allowed them to ripen, but this year I decided to celebrate them for who they are. Green tomatoes have their own nutritional benefits: They are very high in Vitamins A, C, and pantothenic acid, plus are a great source of potassium. But let’s be honest, I’m not eating them for their nutritional value, I’m loving them for their own unique deliciousness.
So, the first ten pounds went into jars. PIckled tomatoes will have all the same health benefits I mentioned in my post about pickles if you prepare them in a similar way. My folks have found that they need about twice the salt though so I followed their lead. Sadly, the season for big, overgrown dillweed with large seed heads has passed here so I had to go with the more demurely plastic packaged baby dill from the grocery store. Otherwise, I stuck with the formula.
Next, fried green tomatoes. I have always heard about this mystical dish and have tried them from time to time but haven’t ever quite gotten the wow I was imagining, so I decided to improvise a bit. I may have mentioned in the past that my husband is a bit of a breaded food obsessive: chicken fingers, pork cutlets, fish sticks, mozzarella sticks, zucchini fritters--they are all well loved, so I’ve become fairly well practiced at making gluten free, healthy versions of these crispy delights. These turned out good enough to share the recipe, with a crispy, flavorful crust and a tangy middle. mmm. Can’t wait for next year.
GF Fried Green Tomatoes:
2 large green tomatoes, sliced ⅜ inch thick
2 Tbsp high heat oil, such as safflower
1 egg
½ cup grated parmesan
½ cup almond meal
¼ cup arrowroot starch (potato or even corn would also probably work fine)
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
sea salt
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add enough oil to coat the pan generously. Scramble the egg in a bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients except salt into another bowl. Dip tomato slice into egg, allow to drip, then using your other hand, coat with the parmesan/almond mixture. Place in pan. Repeat with all the tomato slices. Salt the upper side. When the bottom in nicely browned, flip tomato slices, salt, and brown the other side. You may need to turn heat down to medium if the pan starts to get too hot. Eat when hot and crispy out of the pan.
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