Fried Green Tomatoes!

A few weeks ago, I impulse-bought some green tomatoes and fried them with some panko and some random baharat seasoning.  It was supposed to be a side dish, but three tomatoes was more than enough food to be an entire meal for two people and they were so good that whatever it was that was supposed to be the main course got put to the side.

Last night, I made them again as a main course.  I used three tomatoes again, which was (again) too much food.  You'd think I'd learn.  I served them with a steamed artichoke because it's a standby side dish at my house that involves very little effort.  The sauce for the tomatoes is sriracha mayo and the sauce for the artichokes is Greek yogurt and dill.

One mistake I made the first time around was that I cut the tomatoes too thick, parts of the tomato were still almost cool.  For these, I used a mandoline set to 1/4 inch and they were much better.  The thinly sliced tomatoes cook all the way through. They don't get mushy but they're warm.  Baharat is a spice mix used in Arab, Turkish, and Iranian cuisine.  It contains a ton of spices.  The seasoning I have tastes mainly of cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  The first time I made this, I was trying to make Middle Eastern themed fried green tomatoes so I used the baharat and made a very spicy harissa sauce.  The baharat was so good that I had to use it again.  Instead of making harissa sauce, I made sriracha mayo, which was actually more mild (but still has a good bit of kick).  I use panko to coat the tomatoes and then my husband and I fried them for no set time, we just flipped them when they looked right.  I'd guess maybe 2 minutes per side.

Next time I'll use only two tomatoes.  My plate contains approximately one fried green tomato, several slices didn't even make it onto the place and went to waste. :(  So I wrote this recipe calling for only two tomatoes.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Original Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 green tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
All-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
About 2 cups of panko (but keep the box nearby)
About 3 Tbsp baharat
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil

Instructions

1) Heat enough oil to almost cover the tomato slices in a large, nonstick pan (the oil should cover a little more than half of a slice).  Heat your warming drawer if you have one because these are cooked in batches.

2) While the oil is heating, put enough flour on a plate to lightly coat all the tomatoes.  Season it with salt and pepper.  Keep the flour container around in case you need to replenish.  Put the beaten eggs in a dish next to the flour.  On the other side of the eggs, put the panko and baharat mixture on another plate.

3) Working in batches (my pan held four slices at a time), coat each slice with flour (shake off any excess).  Then coat in egg.  Lastly, coat with the panko mixture.  I pressed mine into the tomato and then shook off any clumps.  But I was careful to make sure each slice was well-covered.

4) Fry the tomatoes until the panko is golden brown, about 2 minutes each side.  Or less, we did it by sight.

5) Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

Sriracha Mayo

From Taste of Home
Makes a lot

Ingredients
3/4 cup mayo
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 - 1.5 Tbsp sriracha sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed

Instructions

1) Mix everything in a bowl and keep cool until ready to serve.