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What better way to bring together my roots as a Georgia boy raised by two Jewish New Yorkers?
Lesser known fact that while the Kosher pickle peddlers of the Lower East Side brought a great variety of pickles to the US, including the iconic Kosher Garlic Dill, the fermented green tomato was considered a staple of equal worth (and still is by many). But in the larger American pickle scene, they just didn’t take off like that. But these days, that seems to be changing!!…
This recipe will work great for fermented or unfermented fried green tomatoes. Fermented green tomatoes in the style of garlic dill cucumber pickles are a classic delicacy that were also part of New York’s Lower East Side pickle peddling scene, but they never gained the same national appeal. That said, they have an uncannily similar flavor. Some love the tomatoes on a plate to munch on just as you would with a side pickle… lots of our grandparents actually preferred these to cucumber pickles!
What to do with fermented “sour garlic dill” green tomatoes? You also could use them as a topping, such as on a burger, replacing both tomato and cucumber pickles at the same time! A relish would be great. Added to salads, etc. It can be gloriously substituted for cucumber pickles in Polish Pickle Soup! So many options!
To make the Sour Garlic Dill Green Tomatoes, simply follow the garlic dill pickle recipe on this site. If you’re new to fermenting, all the guidance for the fermentation is there! Slice or quarter the green tomatoes depending on how you’d like them. Two medium green tomatoes fit a quart jar, so use four sliced tomatoes if following the recipe for a half gallon. Once fermented at least a week at room temp (optimally with another 1-3 weeks in the fridge to taste), you could use them for this fried green tomato recipe. You could also just buy pickled or fermented green tomatoes in a jar, or this recipe works perfectly fine for regular raw green tomatoes. All deets provided below!
The experience of eating a fried green fermented tomato is quite a bit like fried pickles, and a dipping sauce or hot sauce is a nice complement. The featured sauce was 1 TBSP mayo, 2 TBSP homemade kefir cheese, and ¼ tsp dried dill. Blending in some homemade fermented hot sauce would be a great idea too!
Yield: 1 quart jar
14 slices (2 tomatoes, serves 2-4 as an appetizer)
Serve warm
Equipment:
- 3 medium bowls
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Fork or whisk
- Frying pan & spatula
- Paper towel (to drain)
Ingredients:
- 2 medium firm green tomatoes (fermented or unfermented), sliced
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (80g)
- ½ cup buttermilk (or Kefir buttermilk, whisked milk kefir, or plain milk)
- 1 large egg
- 6 TBSP cornmeal
- ½ cup fine bread crumbs
- ¼ cup oil
- Optional: ½ TBSP Cajun seasoning
- Salt (for fresh, unfermented tomatoes)
Directions:
1.) If using unfermented green tomatoes, cut into ½” slices and salt both sides of each slice. Let stand for around 10 minutes to release some of their moisture.
2.) Meanwhile, set up the three bowls. The first bowl is the flour and (optional) Cajun seasoning. The second bowl is the egg and milk/buttermilk whisked together. The third bowl is the cornmeal and bread crumbs.
3.) Whether fermented or salted, pat very dry the green tomatoes with paper towel.
4.) Heat the oil in skillet or frying pan over medium heat.
5.) Prepare the tomatoes by dipping each side in the flour bowl, then the egg mixture, and lastly dip in the cornmeal-breadcrumb mixture until coated. Transfer the tomato slices to the skillet and begin frying. (The oil should be hot enough to immediately sizzle the tomatoes.) If you can’t fit all the tomatoes, fry half and then the other half. Fry tomatoes for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy.
6.) As the tomatoes finish, transfer them to paper towel to drain. Serve hot or warm.
Serve with a dipping sauce or other condiments as desired.
Crazy BLT with crispy bacon, arugula, fried green tomato, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar! Toast with mayo+ homemade sriracha.
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