Easy Recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are not a food I grew up on—you can be sure there wasn't an easy recipe for fried green tomatoes in my mom's recipe box. At our house, a green tomato was an unripe tomato—and that meant it stayed on the vine until it was a rich ruby red. Then, and only then, would it be selected. I love tomatoes—loved ‘em as a kid, still love ‘em today. Whether sliced and salted or with a dollop of mayo, or lightly breaded and fried, tomatoes are one of my favorite summertime pleasures.

But GREEN tomatoes? Thankfully my husband encouraged me to try ‘em—it was one year when we were first married, an early frost was on its way and he pulled the remaining tomato plants out of the garden and hung them in the garage—there were so many green tomatoes still on the vines. “Such a shame for them to go to waste—why don’t we try some fried green tomatoes?”  Well yeah, after all, wasn't there that movie by the same name? Perhaps ...

Thank goodness for his stroke of inspiration. We’ve been eating fried green tomatoes ever since. But since I’ve always kind of winged it with recipes and figured out food as I went along, I didn’t always have a knowledgeable friend, mentor or chef to show me the ropes (of course, now there’s google). So when I recently met Kat Robinson of Tie Dye Travels on a press trip to Door County, Wisconsin, I was tickled when she mentioned sharing a real southern delicacy: Fried Green Tomatoes from Arkansas. The real deal. Of course, when I got home, I had to run up to the garden and pull off a few of the largest and best tomatoes. I scooped the flour and cornmeal mix onto plates. Stirred the egg mix in another bowl. I had never done the double dip like Kat recommended, but let me tell ya: we didn’t have any trouble finishing off a batch of these babies. Arkansas Fried Green Tomatoes. Try ‘em soon. You won’t be disappointed.

Do you have a favorite way to make fried green tomatoes? Or a quick recipe that is a summer stand-by? Please leave a comment below -- or submit a recipe to share with everyone.