Fried Green Tomates

Dear Michelle-

Funny, I had a similar experience in that large Asian grocery on Hester and Elizabeth recently, except basic words in Manderin or Cantonese probably would have served me well. I am also planning on making kimchi soon--we had a delicious celery kimchi recently, and I can't wait to try to replicate it--and was looking for kochukaru, or Korean chili powder. It's a mainly Chinese grocer, but they carry ingredients from various Asian countries and have Korean chili paste, so I thought it was a safe bet I'd find the powder. It might be there, for all I know, but one guy sent me to the flour isle, another two told me they had no English and then proceeded to ignore me, and the names on all of the powdered spices were in English (chili pepper), or written in foreign characters. I guess I'll have to go to Koreatown. I hate going up into midtown!*

I fear that a Momofuku care package would not fare well. There was a guy from New Jersey on Jeff's floor his Freshman year in college who was sent, in the mail, by his mother, a meatball sub. Given the two major things wrong with that scenario, and a third being that he ate it, you won't be surprised when I tell you he suffered later! I bet you can at least make ssam easily with Spanish ingredients, no? Your pancakes certainly look like they turned out well.



I don't know what's in the markets there right now, but here we are starting to see green tomatoes again, those that grew too late to ripen properly. There are a few preparations for these, but the most famous is frying. I actually took the majority of these images early Summer, the other time you'll see them, filling the not-yet-brimming farmer's market stalls, but I was not happy with the final photos. They just looked so...brown.

So I happily made them again last week, but served with salad and buttermilk biscuits for a little color. I made a buttermilk salad dressing as well, you know, in the spirit of things, and I'm including the recipe as it was delicious, tart and creamy, the perfect coating for the variety of tender lettuces I'd bought at the farmer's market.

Fried green tomatoes are, of course, delicious. You can pile them onto a sandwich, smear them with aioli, or eat them on their own, buttered biscuit on the side. They are crunchy, salty, and tart. There are a variety of ways to batter, most involving milk and a flour of some sort, the most common of which being cornmeal. I dipped in seasoned flour, then buttermilk, then masa harina, which produced a rather thick coating; use milk if you want something lighter. I'd like to try them with panko some time, as well.


Fried Green Tomatoes

green tomatoes, 1 medium sized per person, sliced into 1/3 inch slices
buttermilk
masa harina
all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
peanut oil

Pour 1/4 -1/2 inch oil into a deep skillet or pot, and heat over medium high heat. Put flour onto dishes, and buttermilk into a shallow bowl. Mix all-purpose flour with salt, pepper, and herbs/spices if you like (things that would be good: dried thyme, cayenne, paprika). Dip each tomato slice into the flour, then the buttermilk, then the masa harina, making sure it is well-coated. I usually make a tester with an end piece of tomato, so that I know when the oil is ready. Fry slices until golden and soft (I usually have to do two batches so as to not crowd them, fry till golden on both sides, and finish in a 350F oven while I get everything else ready). Top with mayo, or pesto, or hotsauce.

Buttermilk Salad Dressing

1 clove garlic
1t lemon juice
1/3 c buttermilk
1T mayonnaise
1T chopped chive, or sorrel, or tarragon, or a mixture
1 chopped scallion

Grate, press, or VERY FINELY chop garlic clove into a large bowl. Add lemon, buttermilk, and mayo and mix. Taste. I'm blanking right now on whether or not I added olive oil; if I did, I forgot to write it down. If it tastes too tart, whisk in olive oil. Add chopped herbs and toss with lettuce, salt, and pepper.

* So I was going through my spice cupboard the other day, and guess what I found? The Korean red chili powder you gave me when you moved! Sigh, but also Phew!