What to do when you’re faced with too many unripe tomatoes? Most people would say, “Fry ‘em up!” A couple months ago I pickled a batch of them when I swore I was done with the growing season. However, seeing so many unripe cherry tomatoes still in my container garden convinced me to hang on just a bit longer. The weather was mild, so another harvest was on the horizon. Finally, I could make these snack-sized fried green tomato bites I had been thinking about since … forever!
Patiently waiting for my tomato plants to grow.
I’m sharing what I did so you can plan ahead for the next growing season. Because fried green tomatoes are popular in American Southern cuisine, I imagine it’s easier to find unripe tomatoes more abundant in Southern grocery stores. However … in Astoria, Queens they’re not available. So, I took to the soil. Growing cherry tomatoes in containers can be something fun to do on a seasonal basis if you plan ahead and have just a little outdoor space.
My modest balcony garden in Astoria, Queens.
Tomato plants can be a bit finicky. My theory is … the less time the crop spends on the vine, the less time something can go wrong. Once they are pollinated, cherry tomatoes mature quite quickly and abundantly. They deliver quite a steady harvest. If you plant from seeds in April, you can easily have unripe tomatoes to cook with as early as June … and continue to get a harvest until early November.
Even though fried green tomatoes come from American Southern cuisine, I’m told my grandfather frequently made them in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
My fried green tomato recipe is no different from any other classic preparation. Except using cherry tomatoes drastically reduces the cooking time because they’re so darn small. It’s like frying 101 … something being dipped in egg, coated in seasoned cornmeal, shaken off, then flash fried.
Ingredients for fried green tomato
- green cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 heaping tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
- 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
- 2 eggs
- canola oil for shallow frying, enough for 1 inch deep
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and parsley flakes.
- In a separate small bowl, stir the eggs with a fork until well beaten.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise. Dip them in the egg, then transfer them into the seasoned cornmeal.
- Transfer the coated tomatoes to a mesh sieve. Gently shake the sieve over the cornmeal bowl to release any excess seasoning.
- Over a medium-high flame, heat the canola oil in a small skillet until it starts to shimmer. Use one tomato to test the heat. If the tomato doesn’t instantly sizzle when dropped into the oil, it’s not hot enough.
- Carefully drop the rest of the coated tomatoes and fry until golden. It may only take a minute or two, so watch them closely.
- Remove tomatoes from the oil, blot on paper towels and enjoy! Try dipping them in some tartar sauce or ranch dressing, or my Red Pepper Tahini Dressing.
