I planted my tomatoes late this year. When the frost hit I was left with a number of small green tomatoes and a forest of basil. As I decided the fate of my crops I remembered a film suggesting I could fry green tomatoes so I composted the basil, and saved the maters.

When I got home I searched online, found a few recipes, rummaged through my pantry, and came up short on ingredients. Too lazy to go to the store, I said “Eff it!” and took a stab at my own fried green tomato recipe.

Before you begin you’re going to need a few things. Get ’em and proceed to the good part.

A Few Things

A bunch of small, firm green tomatoes (or a few big ones)

2 eggs

Vegetable oil (enough to make a 1/2″ pond in your skillet)

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

The Good Part

1. Cut each tomato into 1/2″ slices.

2. Put the tomato slices in a bowl, add a bit of salt and pepper, toss ’em around until they’re nice and covered, and set ’em aside.

3. Combine the cornmeal and paprika in a small bowl. In another bowl, beat yo eggs.

4. Cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with 1/2 inch of oil, then turn the stovetop on medium-high.

5. Coat the tomato slices in egg, then toss ’em around in the cornmeal mixture.

6. Fry as many tomatoes as you can in your skillet. They’ll need to be nice and brown so give ’em about 2 minutes on each side. As the tomatoes are frying go ahead sprinkle some cumin and garlic powder on ’em.

7. Transfer your fried green tomatoes to a paper towel-lined platter. Cook any remaining maters.

From the Chef

Having never fried green tomatoes before I gotta say my first attempt was a huge and delicious success. The tomatoes were a little bitter with a hint of sweet (kind of like tomatillos). The cornmeal was a way better idea than flour, and the cumin complimented the green tomatoes’ flavor perfectly. When I make ’em again I’m gonna put the cumin and garlic in the cornmeal mixture for a more even seasoning. As for the breading, even though I was pretty liberal with my cornmeal the maters still managed to shake some loose as they cooked. I guess I need to be even more liberal the next time.

Cooking Deets

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 4 minutes

Cost: < $4

Difficulty: Easy

Taste: ★★★★★