FRONT BURNER: Fried red Roma tomatoes: Best thing ever

Fried Red Tomatoes
Fried Red Tomatoes

I don't know Diane Unger, but I admire her work. I'd like to tell her thank you for creating one of the best recipes I've ever tried.

Fried Red Tomatoes.

Yes, you read that right. Red tomatoes. Fried.

They're just like fried green tomatoes, but with deep, rich tomato flavor. But as Unger writes, you can't use just any tomato. And you definitely don't want to use big, juicy ones here. This recipe requires Roma or plum tomatoes. Their firm, meaty texture and lack of excessive juice, or jelly as some call it, is essential to the success of this dish.

The recipe appears in the June/July issue of Cook's Country. And it really is one of the best things I've ever eaten -- I ate all four servings and could have eaten four more, so you may want to double it. (Don't feel bad for my husband, I wasn't being selfish. In fact, I was protecting him. Really. He's allergic to tomatoes and had he eaten a slice thinking it was fried squash, it could have killed him, or at least made him wish he were dead.)

Unger's recipe calls for serving the tomatoes with lemon wedges and minced basil, but I thought they were perfect just as they were.

I made some minor tweaks to Unger's recipe -- adding a little milk to the dipping liquid, cooking the tomatoes in an iron skillet and skipping the garnishes.

Fried Red Tomatoes

4 plum or Roma tomatoes, ends trimmed, sliced about 1/4-inch thick

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (do not use garlic salt)

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

2/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 ounce freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I used a Microplane)

Salt and ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Line two wire racks with paper towels. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in a single layer on one of the racks. Set the remaining rack aside. Sprinkle the tomatoes with garlic powder. Let stand for 40 minutes. (Unger instructs flipping the tomatoes halfway through. I forgot this step and it didn't seem to make a difference.)

In a shallow dish, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and milk.

In a separate shallow dish, combine the cornmeal, flour, cheese, a generous pinch of salt and black pepper and the cayenne. Mix well.

Lightly blot the tops of the tomatoes to remove any liquid that has accumulated. Dip each slice into the buttermilk mixture, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture, making sure to thoroughly coat the slices with cornmeal.

Transfer coated slices to the other paper towel-lined wire rack. Replace the paper towels on the first rack used.

Heat the oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add tomato slices, as many as will comfortably fit in a single layer. Fry 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown, flip and and cook 1 to 2 minutes more or until browned. Drain on paper-towel-lined rack. Repeat with the remaining slices. Serve hot.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from Cook's Country

Food on 07/20/2016

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