Crispy chicken, collard greens, cornbread, and fried green tomatoes. These are some of the South's most iconic dishes, the last of which has made a name in Hollywood, upscale restaurants, and down-home diners. Fried green tomatoes can be made the traditional way, lightly battered and served alongside a dipping sauce, or dressed up with aioli and herbs. But no matter how you enjoy these crispy treats, there's so much more to fried green tomatoes than meets the eye.
Fried green tomatoes are usually associated with the South, but if you were to look in Southern newspapers or cookbooks before the 1970s, you wouldn't find mention of them anywhere. Jewish immigrants brought this dish to the US in the 19th century, later appearing in Northeastern and Midwestern cookbooks. Fried green tomatoes became popular in the South after the release of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café and the Fried Green Tomatoes book and movie duo.
That’s right: fried green tomatoes are not native to the South, but no one loves this dish like Lowcountry folks.
I want to find a green fried tomato dish I can brag about and send people to. I want them to be huge, fried to perfection, and served with shrimp and a Cajun tomato cream sauce. I tried them when they were on the menu recently. I ordered them as an appetizer, but they weren't that good, or I'd brag about them in this post. Either way, you'll crave them for weeks to come. I make them when I find homegrown tomatoes or from the farmer's markets.
This is all true but growing up in Fresno, California, my family grew tomatoes in the garden. On Sunday morning, we loved the dish my mother made from these hardy tomatoes that were fresh from the garden, and if they reddened, she made them a sauce and smothered fried chicken over rice. I still make this dish from time to time.
