Oh the joys that gardening has given me, growing my own vegetables. Veggies are growing but the yard isn’t finished yet. It’s been colder this spring so I am off to a late start. I live in Zone 5a,in the U.S., which is a hardiness zone that gardeners follow to determine what type of year is the best time plant, when the frost period has passed. This year I am planting 26 tomato plants, in different varieties. My favorite tomato to plant are Lemon Boys. They have a tangy sweet taste. They are big bright and yellow. I love a good Red Beefsteak tomato or an Heirloom tomato. I am growing roughly 8 bell pepper plants, 8 different jalapeno plants (Mammoth, Serrano, regular, Banana, and Chile Anjo). I planted 12 sweet potato slips, two pumpkin plants, two watermelon plants. I grow a potted garden, where I like having some control over the environment and soil. Here’s a video of my vegetables.
Recipe: Fried Yellow Tomatoes (Lemon Boys)
RECIPE
3 ripe Lemon Boy tomatoes.
1 cup of Flour (regular flower, cassava flour — I recommend Ottos, or pure potato flour).
Pompeo Virgin Olive Oil (Light Taste) for frying and sautéing.
Salt
Garlic Powder
Ground or or chopped basil
Small frying pan and a metal spatula (or any spatula that can withstand significant heat).
You can add any seasoning of your choice, so season to taste. You can decide how much salt you can add, just don’t overdo it. Too much can ruin the recipe. Make sure you are adding an amount that is healthy for you.
Most people will tell you to use firm tomatoes (green) because they are firm and don’t break down as easily. But unripe green tomatoes are not always the best option. Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family. Which is fine. However, unripe green tomatoes have solanine, which can cause gastrointestinal distress and can be toxic in high amounts. Heating them can break these compounds down but I just assume to avoid them altogether for something better. So if you have GERD or indigestion, avoid green tomatoes and use tomatoes that are fully ripe and no longer green.
Recipe:
Lemon Boys are fully ripe, tangy, and perfect for fried tomatoes. I even like to add a little lemon zest or squeeze a little lemon on my fried yellow tomatoes. Fully ripe Lemon Boy tomatoes (or any red or black tomatoes) are great because the moisture will allow the flour to stick, allowing you to fry them. Some people use eggs to keep the batter on the tomato, but I can sometimes taste the egg, which takes away from the taste. You don’t need a large frying pan.
Mix your dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Your tomato slices should be already be sliced and sitting in their own sliced tomato juices ready to drop into your small bowl of flour.
Place a slice or two in your small bowl and cover with flour.
Heat your olive oil. Your oil should be hot and ready to fry the tomato as soon as the battered tomato is placed in the oil. Be sure that you do not leave the oil heating for too long, as this is a fire hazard. Do not fill your sauce pan with oil all the way to the top as this can spill over and become a fire hazard. A thin amount is needed, just enough to barely submerge your tomato slices.
After covering your tomato slices with batter, however many you can fit into the bowl and pan at the same time, use tongs to place them in your hot oil. This will sizzle and begin to fry the batter. The batter should only take a minute to a minute to two minutes to fry and crisp. Tomatoes break down from the heat very easily and very quickly, turning into a puddle the longer it is cooked and will disintegrate, so you have to fry each slice fairly quickly. This is why having hot oil that will crisp your batter up right away is important. But again, not too hot because the flour falling to the bottom of the pan will begin to cook as well. Flip your tomato after a minute. Cooking on both sides should take about a total of two minutes, but again, you will be the judge. It should like the fried tomatoes in the image above. Note how in picture two, you see a bit of yellow sticking out of the batter. This is because that tomato slice was a bit hot and ready to disintegrate when I took it out, but letting it cool stabilized it a bit. Take your metal spatula and use it to scoop your tomato up. As the tomato cools it will firm up again. But if you handle it incorrectly while it is still very hot, the fried tomato slice will disintegrate or break apart. So be sure to use a spatula. The broken apart slices are still edible. Just messy.
