Fried Green Tomatoes

I have wanted to try fried green tomatoes ever since I first heard about them back when I was a kid, though up until this summer I had never actually tried making them before.  This summer my tomatoes have been doing extremely well so I always have plenty of green tomatoes on the vine.  The other day 3 of them looked perfect and round, and ready to pick even though they still weren't ripe. I ended up picking them, and had this recipe for fried green tomatoes in the back of my mind.  

I brought the tomatoes home and got to work, making the same breading mixture I often use for chicken fingers, only with the addition of corn flour rather than the usual all-purpose.  I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome, happy to have an additional use for my bounty of tomatoes that didn't quite taste the way a traditional tomato does.  It's been a couple of weeks since I last made this recipe, and writing about it now makes me want to have it for dinner tonight!  Off to the greenhouse I go, I'm sure there's a plethora of green tomatoes I can choose from.  

Ingredients - 3/4 cup olive oil  - 2-3 large green tomatoes - 2 medium eggs - 1/2 cup milk - 1 cup corn flour - 1/2 cup panko (coarse) bread crumbs - salt & pepper to taste

Directions

  

Pre-heat a large frying pan over medium heat. 

Set out three large plates or bowls (I like using plates better, because there is more surface area, but a bowl would work just fine as well).  Place half (1/2 cup) of the corn flour on the first plate.  Whisk together eggs and milk and pour onto the second plate.   Mix together the other half (1/2) cup of the corn flour with panko and salt/pepper, then sprinkle onto the third plate.  Slice the tomatoes and dip into the flour, eggs, and then flour/breadcrumb mixture.  Fry in oil 4-5 pieces at a time being sure now to crowd the tomato pieces.   Drain on a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towel and sprinkle liberally with salt.
Enjoy!