A very good (rainy) Morning to you!

A few folks who liked the look of the Fried Green Tomato recipe I cooked and posted
on Instagram and Facebook last week have asked for the recipe and a bit more info
so I’ve written about it here.

Fried Green Tomatoes
At the end of the growing season, or should I say, more accurately, the end of the
ripening season, the tomato plants in my greenhouse and even those outside in my
raised beds continue to produce plenty of full sized fruits that - due to the lack of
sunlight and warmth - will never ripen. I, like many thrifty gardeners look for ways to
use these beautiful tomatoes and I do find them particularly beautiful. The green of
an unripe tomato holds a fascination for me, they look almost like pale green baize or
velvet, light plays on the skin in a magical way. Cutting a slice from a green tomato
is different from cutting a red tomato. The smell is different, less pungent than ripe
fruit but fresh and acidic.

I have a favourite recipe for green tomato chutney, which I love with a slice of strong
Cheddar or perhaps a sliver of Comté and I will post that recipe soon but
sometimes the vines in my greenhouse are so heavily laden that I need other ways
to use their abundance. Preserves are fantastic and remind us of the garden when
winter has all but closed the it down, but green tomatoes make a wonderful
healthy breakfast. As some of you may know from my book, Drawn to the Garden all
of what I laughingly call my “recipes’ are just an amalgamation in various quantities of
things I grow and what I have to hand in the kitchen. Raymond Blanc I ain’t, but I love
to consume everything I grow. With that in mind here is my version of Fried Green
tomatoes. Most recipes use bread crumbs or polenta which is gorgeous but I am a
coeliac so don’t often have even GF bread in the kitchen and I'm also overweight so I
try not to add unnecessary carbohydrates as crusts or coatings to everyday foods.

That said, I like butter and a little oil to fry my toms … swings and roundabouts …

• A few green tomatoes
• A handful of soft herbs or dried
• Butter for cooking or oil or both
• Salt ( in moderation if like me, high blood pressure can be an issue)
• Black or white pepper
• Balsamic vinegar or Balsamic glaze
  

Gather a few handfuls of green tomatoes, I use anything from unripe beefsteak toms
to tiny green marbles of unripened cherry tomatoes. If you have any herbs, that are
either still doing their stuff in the garden or on a windowsill or a sprinkle of dried
herbs, I always add them. I’d avoid rosemary as it’s a bit overpowering for the
delicate flavour of the toms but chives, oregano, marjoram or parsley are great,
Run toms under a cold tap, slice the larger fruits and halve the smaller ones.
Heat a frying pan and add a glug of oil (sunflower or vegetable oil ) If the fruits are
very wet you can pop them on a piece of kitchen towel for a minute, I never bother
but then I’m usually just throwing this together for myself and perhaps Sam, if he
smells it cooking and heads in to the kitchen salivating.
Let them brown slightly on both sides and then and add the herbs & the knob of butter,
continue to gently fry for another sixty seconds and then plate up.
I like a slug of my best olive oil and a pinch of salt, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and a
twist of black pepper to finish. Sam will ALWAYS add white pepper; we will talk about
this one day but I’ve no time just now. It’s great with scrambled eggs or on toast if
you fancy.

Please let me know if you make this and more importantly if you can improve on it.
I’m thinking garlic might be a lovely addition, thoughts?
Love from Caroline Q x

P.S One of my Christmassy cards is of green toms … which remind me of Xmas
baubles!