Fried green tomatoes, need I say more? Well, yes. How about fried green tomatoes BLT? This is one of my favorite things to eat for sure. Growing up in South Florida, we had green tomatoes galore. They remind me of my youth, and even though I grew up in a Cuban household, we ate green tomatoes often. Tomatoes in general are a staple item in our home. Do you enjoy them?

It’s been difficult for me to find green ones here in my town, but I managed to get my hands on a few. Immediately I thought to put fried green tomatoes in a BLT. The acidity of the green tomatoes, crunchy bacon, fresh crisp curly lettuce between two toasted pieces of country bread slathered with mayo…mmmm. I think I’ll stop talking now. This summer has been good. Let’s eat.

Here is the recipe:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 3

Ingredients:

• 3 large green tomatoes, cut into ½ inch slices
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• ½ cup of fine yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• ½ cup of seasoned Panko bread crumbs
• ½ cup of whole milk (I used Lactaid brand)
• 2 cups of canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• 6 strips of bacon, cooked and drained of any excess oil
• 3 leaves of curly lettuce, washed and dried
• 6 slices of country style bread, toasted (sourdough would work nicely too)

Note: Set up your ingredients and dredging station before you begin.

Directions:

1. First add the cornmeal, salt, black ground pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to the all purpose flour and whisk gently to combine.
2. Dip a slice of green tomato into the milk, let it sit for a few seconds, then dredge it through the flour mixture, then dip it into the beaten egg, and lastly into the panko breadcrumbs. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Follow step 2 for the remaining tomato slices. 
4. Set a large non stick skillet with canola oil on medium heat.  Allow the oil to heat up properly before adding the tomatoes. This should take 3-5 minutes.
5. Use kitchen tongs to slowly place the tomatoes in the oil to fry. This step will take only a few minutes, as they will cook quickly. If they are browning too fast, turn the heat down to medium low. Turn the tomato slices only once for an even golden brown and crispy texture.
6. Place the fried tomatoes on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
7. Toast your bread, then add mayonnaise to both pieces of bread. 
8. Finish your sandwich by adding the crispy lettuce, fried green tomatoes, and the slices of bacon. Enjoy!