Fried Green Tomatoes with a Crispy, Spicy Coating (Can be made gluten free and in an airfryer instead of frying)

This is just THE most delicious thing to do with green tomatoes, if you have a glut of them which haven't ripened at the end of summer!

I've made green tomato chutney before, which is also delicious, but this year I thought I'd hark back to a film I watched as a teenager (many years ago!) - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I always wondered what they tasted like, and we have soooo many green tomatoes left over this year, that I've had several opportunities to experiment with various ingredients and methods, and this is the combination of ingredients I've settled  on as my favourite - be it fried or air fried!

Cooked in a frying pan

Cooked in the airfryer

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do - I've become a bit obsessed with them now, and there definitely aren't going to be any left over for chutney this year - also, they're an excellent vegetarian dish, brilliant as a starter, side, or even just to serve alongside drinks... or, erm, breakfast, brunch, supper... you get the idea! And I'd even go as far as to say that I prefer the air fryer version - they're so crispy - and almost guilt free!

Ingredients

• 500g green (unripe) tomatoes - the largest you have
• 50g plain flour
• 1 large egg
• 50g buttermilk (or substitute with plain yoghurt)
  
• 25g milk (preferably whole)
  
• 100g stale white bread (around 4 large, thick slices, crusts removed) - see notes for gluten free options
  
• 50g polenta / cornmeal
• 2 tsp Cajun seasoning (e.g. Schwartz - leave out if you don't like it spicy)
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Freshly ground black pepper (plenty!)
• Pinch of salt, if desired (to taste)
  
• Neutral flavoured oil (to fry) OR oil spray to air fry
  
  
• Dips of choice to serve (e.g. sour cream and chive, barbeque, sweet chilli, hot chilli sauce etc.)
  

Method

1. Tear up the bread into smaller pieces (after removing the crust), and put into a food processor with the polenta, cajun seasoning, parsely, black pepper and blitz until combined.

2. Slice the tomatoes into 1cm slices (set aside the ends for another purpose).

3. Set out your 'crumbing station'! You need a bowl with the flour in, a bowl with the egg, buttermilk and milk whisked together, and then a bowl with your breadcrumb mixture. Line a large plate with non-stick greaseproof paper, and put everything right next to each other, to avoid drips and mess! Put a couple of forks, or a fork and spoon into each of the three bowls so you can easily transfer the tomato slices from one bowl to the next.

4. Depending on the size of your bowls, put in around half a dozen slices of tomato into the flour, coat lightly by tossing it with the forks, transfer into the egg mixture and coat, then finally into the breadcrumbs, coating lightly, and set aside onto the plate covered with greaseproof paper. You can prepare these in advance, even the day before.

5. Cook! You can choose whether you deep fry, shallow fry, or air fry. I tend to shallow fry or air fry, to reduce the amount of oil needed. To shallow fry, you can put a few tbsp of neutral flavoured oil into a non stick pan, and gently fry until golden on both sides (don't have too high a flame, or the polenta will burn). Or, you can spray the bread-crumbed slices of tomato on each side with a neutral flavoured oil spray, then fry.

6. To air fry, spray both sides of the tomato slices with a neutral oil, and also spray the mesh tray of your airfryer with oil. I like to pre-heat my airfryer for a couple of minutes before putting the tray in, but it's not essential. I cook on 200C for 8 to 10 minutes, but check after 5 minutes, and cook to your desired crispness!

7. Enjoy hot and crispy with your favourite dip/s - I love them with a sour cream and chive dip, and sometimes with a really spicy BBQ dip on the side too, for contrast (mix a good smoky BBQ sauce with as much hot sauce as you can bear!)!

Top left polenta, bottom right flour and polenta mix (my preference as the polenta can catch more)

Notes

These can easily be adapted to be gluten free, by using gluten free plain flour, and a mix of gluten free polenta/cornmeal and gluten free bread to make the crumb coating - and they taste just as good!

My version uses a mix of breadcrumbs and polenta, as I find that to be my preference for crunch and flavour - but you can use either all polenta, for a more authentic crunch, or use all breadcrumbs if you can't get hold of polenta, for a lighter crunch. Panko breadcrumbs work well too.