Fried Green Tomatoes With Goat Cheese

Fried Green Tomatoes With Goat Cheese

Serves: 6

Hands On Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Ingredients

Red Pepper Couli

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 sweet red peppers, seeded and cut into large pieces

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 cups chicken stock or tomato juice

1/4 cup white wine or vinegar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

5 basil leaves

1 sprig thyme

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fried Green Tomatoes

3 large green tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 tablespoons goat cheese, softened

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, beaten

2 cups bread crumbs

Vegetable oil, for frying

1/4 pound dandelion greens, washed and dried

Instructions

To make the red pepper couli: In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the peppers, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken stock, wine, sugar, basil and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Transfer the sauce mixture to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

As the sauce simmers, make the fried green tomatoes: Slice the tomatoes into four or five 1/4-inch-thick slices. Season with salt and pepper. Spread goat cheese liberally over each slice. Dust lightly in flour. Then dip each into beaten eggs and coat with bread crumbs. Refrigerate until cold.

Heat the oil to to 350 degrees in a deep, heavy bottomed pot or an electric fryer. Using a slotted spoon, lower the tomatoes into the hot oil and fry until golden brown and crisp on all sides. (If you don’t want to deep-fry, tomatoes may also be fried on both sides in about 1 inch of hot oil.) Drain on paper towels. Add the dandelion greens to the hot oil and fry until crisp.

Cut the fried tomatoes in half. Pour the pureed sauce onto plates and top with the tomatoes. Place the fried greens on top of the tomatoes and serve.

Nutrition

Per serving (with chicken stock): 307 calories, 12 grams protein, 16 grams fat (percent calories from fat, 47), 32 grams carbohydrates, 153 milligrams cholesterol, 222 milligrams sodium, 3 grams fiber.

About the recipe

Former executive chef Jay Swift’s wonderfully innovative version of fried green tomatoes is but one of many contemporary Southern offerings on South City Kitchen’s menu. Though he is no longer at the restaurant, his signature dish remains on the menu.

Recipe courtesy of South City Kitchen in Atlanta, Ga.