Love fried green tomatoes? This version of the classic has a crispy coating -- no frying required! Baked Fried Green Tomatoes, anyone?
A few weeks ago, I was standing in my parents' backyard in Connecticut, surveying their massive tomato plants. The tall, leafy, full plants were laden with an abundance of fruit in various stages of ripening.
Here in Maine, my tomato plants never quite reached bushy status. In fact, they've remained pretty small. But one has produced a dozen or so little sungold tomatoes, and another has a small but lovely big boy tomato ripening.
To say my plants produced a small harvest is a huge understatement. It was tiny. Miniscule. Itty bitty. Still, for us, it was a success. My daughter Paige, 7, and I planted these plants as an experiment, along with some herbs that I've been plucking for cooking. We forgot tomato cages until it was too late, and never found the organic fertilizer I wanted to feed the plants with, so the plants were left to just grow however. And apparently in my small back porch container garden, that meant staying petite.
But still, the plants grew enough to flower and spawn fruit. Maybe next year we'll work on a fuller garden, using the implements we skipped this year. But for now, this was enough.
I think about the concept of "enough" a lot -- not just with regards to our garden, but with regards to our life and our choices too. What is "enough"?
If you'd asked me a few weeks ago if my kids had "enough" clothes, I would have said they had too many -- more than enough. But then I cleaned their dressers and discovered that they'd outgrown a lot. After packing up and donating the outgrown clothes, we finally could see the reality of their clothes situation. They still had enough, but once we removed the items that no longer fit, the amount was greatly reduced. And that was okay. It was better even, because it no longer felt like we were living in excess.
As a mother, I often wonder if I am enough for my children. I can manage mornings, schedules and homework. My kids are clean. And I encourage them to get out and make friends. But sometimes, it feels like I spend so much time parenting that I forget about the things that actually make memories with me -- their mom. The things that produce fun and laughter. It's haunting to think that in navigating the maze of trying to raise two polite, bright, kind kids, they don't actually make enough good memories with me.
This summer, with some help, the kids and I did a lot more together. We hiked and swam. We tried new things. We explored together. And that has made me feel closer to enough for them.
And that's really what I want to be, to my kids, my friends and my loved ones: enough.
Our harvest was enough. For now. But I hope in the future that my garden, as in life, that our bounty grows and flourishes.
What is enough for you?
With my parents permission, I plucked some tomatoes from their generous vines before heading north to Maine. Among what I picked? A few green tomatoes to make these Baked Fried Green Tomatoes, something I'd been thinking of for awhile.
With a cornmeal coating, these tomatoes "fry" in the oven thanks to a little cooking oil spray. The result is a tender, warm tomato with a crispy coating. It's pleasant and tasty.
I served these Baked Fried Green Tomatoes with creamy avocado, which was a satisfying textural contrast to the meaty tomatoes, and a sprinkle of smoked sea salt. But these are also good in sandwiches, on salads or however you like to serve your fried green tomatoes.
Baked Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients
- cooking oil spray
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten well
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 large green tomato, sliced into ¼-inch slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking oil spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt and pepper. In another small bowl, add the egg. In a third small bowl, add the cornmeal. The bowls should be wide enough to accommodate the tomato slices.
- Dip the tomato slices first in the flour mixture, then in the egg and finally in the cornmeal. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet and repeat until all the tomato slices have been coated. Spray with cooking oil spray.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping once, until golden.
oh girl, I hear you - I try to be mindful of "enough" and do away with excess. while I most likely won't ever be minimalist, I know I can do with much less, and I want to!
green tomatoes... I love them. I want to try your recipe!
Let me know if you try it!
I love how easy this is and you can use them in a pile of ways! And it's baked! Even better!!
I LOVE fried green tomatoes, but HATE frying, so these are perfect! I cannot wait to try them
Hope you love them!
Yes to all of this. I think about the concept of "enough" quite frequently. Constantly actually. It's a never ending struggle for me and usually involves me donating more and more of our stuff to charity and only possessing what we actually use and need. For me I feel like I'm able to give more of myself when I have less things tying me down. Anyways, these green tomatoes look amazing! I have a fried green tomato with a crab salad on the menu for this week, I can't wait!
Over the last few years, I have donated so much stuff trying to cull our life down to what we need. It's so hard to do, but I feel much better for it too. I love what you said about feeling like you can give more of you when you have less tying you down -- same for me!
I love what you can do with tomatoes! My parents always had an amazing garden filled with great tomatoes. Me? Not so much! I've yet to try making "fried" green tomatoes! I love that these are baked! Sounds like you had a nice summer! Here's to a great fall, too! Thanks!
Yes, here's to a great fall! We don't have much fall in Maine, but we'll make the most of it! Hope you do too.
It is so hard to grow tomatoes in short seasons. Thank goodness for your parents plants. Your kids will never forget the good times with you. Great job!
I actually really love fried green tomatoes, but don't eat them nearly enough. I love the idea of a baked version that is still crispy on the outside.
We've been lucky to have a bumper crop of tomatoes this year but we've also had a fair share of really large tomatoes fall off the vine before they ripen. I love the idea of baked fried green tomatoes!
It may never seem to be enough of anything until we declutter and look at the bounty we have. Seeking enough can drive one crazy I think. We are learning to be content with where we live, what we have and how we live on a day to day basis and that's enough for me. Love these fried green tomatoes!
Love the idea of baking fried green tomatoes. Our tomatoes did amazingly well this year. We usually don't have the crop that we did this year so it's been fun trying new ways to use them. Glad you had a fun summer with your kids. I'm sure you made many wonderful memories together.
That is so nice that you had luck with your tomatoes...I wish I had luck with mine here in FL (I'd take even petite plants like yours). A great idea to bake them instead of frying. And yes, it's perfect to be enough as a mom!
I love fried green tomatoes and I just bought some green tomatoes at the farmers market this past weekend to make some but I think now that I've seen yours that I want to make BAKED green tomatoes instead!
I'm so jealous of your plants, even if they're not producing tons of tomatoes yet! I was actually looking at fried green tomato recipes recently and didn't come across any that were baked. Love this!
Oh, that's so sweet! I've been having some good quality time with my son this summer too, I've been so busy with school, it has been nice to have those little 'moments' together. Love the looks of these tomatoes, mine never ever turn red, so fried green tomatoes is just perfect. Baked=even better 🙂
So glad you had a good summer with your son too. Those moments are the best.
Do any of y'all slice your tomatoes, than salt both side and let them rest for 10 mins or so to get the bitter water out of them? Then rinse them very quickly and lay on a paper towel to drain before prepping them for the oven. Just wondering. I've ate them both ways, but the salted ones always have a better flavor.
Thanks for letting me share! 🙂
Hi JR, I've never done that, but interesting idea. I have a green tomato waiting to be fried. I will have to try this!