Weeknight and local: fried green tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are cheap, easy and versatile, and their crisp, slightly tangy texture makes them great delivery devices for cool foils like shrimp remoulade or crab salad. Picking some up from last Tuesday’s Red Stick Farmers Market (see hours here), I sliced them about a quarter-inch to a half-inch thick, dipped them in a wet batter of milk (about a cup) and a beaten egg, then dredged them well in a combination of panko bread crumbs and cornmeal (ratio of 2:1), with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. With enough vegetable oil just generously coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet, I fried them for two to three minutes on each side. Most Louisiana cooks have their preferred method of battering and frying; the only secret to fried green tomatoes is making sure they’re green. Any whiff of the tomatoes heading toward ripeness will make them mushy and unappealing after cooked — a mistake I made with a few of mine. But green, they’re firm, satisfying a lot of fun. Popular with children, too. See finished product here.