FRIED TOMATOES-RED OR GREEN

FRIED TOMATOES-GREEN OR RED

Fried Tomatoes-Red or Green

The only thing that takes practice is having confidence that seasoned cornmeal is enough to do the job.

2 pounds tomatoes. Green or Red (just make sure the red ones aren’t very soft or they’ll fall apart when you fry them)
1 ½ cups cornmeal
Oil for frying, you may also use shortening or the traditional bacon grease.
Salt and pepper to taste

Season your cornmeal with salt and pepper.
Slice the tomatoes about 3/8 inch thick,
Dredge both sides of the tomatoes in the seasoned cornmeal, pressing each side firmly into the meal so it will make a good coating. Do not try to do anything more than coat them, you don’t want to mound the cornmeal up it will fall off anyway, just make sure it’s all covered. Tomatoes are pretty wet things so the cornmeal will stick quite well. Respect your ingredients.

Place the coated tomato slices on a plate, any excess cornmeal should fall off as you move them to the plate. 

Put enough oil or whatever in an iron skillet to a depth of about 3/8 inch, and place the skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes to the hot oil a few at a time, without crowding, and fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Turn, and when both sides are golden brown, drain on paper towels and serve piping hot. They will be soft all the way through except where a bit of the core may be in the slice.

FRIED GREEN TOMATO WEDGES

FRIED GREEN TOMATO WEDGES

2 c. yellow cornmeal

4 t. coarse salt

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 t. ground cayenne pepper

2 c. buttermilk

2 eggs

Zest and juice of 4 limes

Oil for frying

about 4 cups small green tomatoes, cut into 1-inch thick wedges.

  

Combine cornmeal, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper; set aside. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, lime juice and zest and set aside.

  

In a large cast-iron skillet, pour oil to a depth of about an inch; you will want enough to submerge the wedges.   Heat until a deep-fry thermometer measures 375º. Dip the wedges into the batter and immediately place them into the hot oil (careful! don't splash, use a little spoon or fork, please).

  

Fry tomatoes, working in batches, until golden brown, about two minutes total frying time. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Season with salt while hot. Serve warm with aioli (posted in the blog archive already).

SOUTHERN TEA CAKES

SOUTHERN TEA CAKES

Total: 32 min
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 12 min
Yield: 6 to 8 dozen cookies
Level:Easy

4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder together. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Dough will be soft and wet. On a floured surface shape the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Flour surface again and roll dough out until approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into desired shapes and bake on a slightly greased sheet pan for 10 to 12 minutes.

ZUCCHINI GREEN CURRY COCONUT SOUP

Soupe de courgettes au lait de coco




Temps de préparation 15 minutes
Temps de cuisson 40 minutes
Nombre de personnes: 6

Ingrédients:
courgettes - 2 grandes
lait de coco - 20 cl
oignons - 2
ail - 2 gousses
curry vert - 1 cuil. à soupe
bouillon de poule déshydraté - 1 cube
ciboulette - quelques brins
sel et poivre -
crème de coco - (facultatif)
huile d'olive -

Explications:

Lavez les courgettes, épluchez-les partiellement et coupez-les en petits dés.

Emincez les oignons en petits dés puis faites les revenir dans une cocotte ou un wok avec un filet d'huile d'olive environ 10 mn à feu moyen. Saupoudrez la cuillère de curry vert puis ajoutez les dés de courgettes en mélangeant bien.

Laissez 10 mn sur le feu en remuant puis versez le lait de coco. Salez peu, poivrez et ajoutez enfin 70 cl de bouillon de poule reconstitué.

Laissez mijoter à feu moyen environ 30 mn en remuant régulièrement afin d'éviter le bouillonnement.

Mixez la soupe à l'aide d'un mixer plongeant ou dans un blender, rectifiez l'assaisonnement en sel et poivre et réchauffez-la avant de la verser dans la soupière.

Au moment de servir ajoutez un peu de ciboulette ciselée.

Pour une soupe encore plus onctueuse: incorporez 10 cl de crème coco au moment de réchauffer la soupe et laissez frémir 5 mn.

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 celery stalks, chopped
• 7 cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 3 sprigs parsley
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large waxy-style potato (about 3/4 pound), diced
• 5 cups clam juice (five 8-ounce bottles clam juice)
• One 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes (with liquid), roughly chopped
• 1-1/2 cups minced clams, drained (about four 6-1/2 ounce cans)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute more. Tie the parsley sprigs, fresh thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot with the potatoes. Pour in the clam juice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and clams. Cover and bring to a low simmer. Season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

NEVER BROWNS GUACAMOLE

NEVER BROWNS GUACAMOLE

prep time: 15 minutes

cook time: zilch

yield: 1 1/2 cups or so / 6-8 servings

1/4 cup sea salt

1/2 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups cool water

3 ripe avocados, stone (pit) and skin removed

small handful cilantro, minced

3 scallions, white and light green part only, diced

1 jalapeño, minced (seeds and membrane removed for mild, or not for spicy)

juice of 1 lime

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the hot water. Add the cool water.
2. Halve the avocados and remove the stone (see the video below for tutelage)
3. Using a large spoon, scoop out the avocado halves and drop in the salt water. Allow them to soak in there for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, chop up your guacamole additions and add them to a bowl that has enough room for them and the avocados. My preferred combination is in the ingredients list above, but feel free to add your favorites.
5. After the avocados have soaked, remove them from the salt water, give them a quick rinse, and drop into the bowl with the veggies. Mash with a fork, whisk, or potato masher. Season to taste; you probably won’t need any additional salt.

MY CEVICHE

CATFISH CEVICHE

Words Fail Me...

Serve with corn chips.  I especially like the cup-shaped ones for this.

1 lb U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets, cut in to 1/4-inch pieces (the smaller the better-hard to do but worth the effort)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
½ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup seeded and diced ripe tomato
½ cup finely diced red onion
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon oregano leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined, and minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced

In a large reseal able food-storage bag, combine the fish with the lemon and lime zests and juices. Allow to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 18 hours, turning every once and a while to mix.

Thirty minutes before serving, drain the fish and discard the liquid. Put the fish in a large mixing bowl and add the olive oil, tomato, red onion, garlic, cilantro, oregano, jalapeno, salt, sugar, and avocado. Mix gently, cover, and chill until ready to serve.
Serves 6