Bill Bowles, executive chef at Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles in Detroit, wasn’t born in the south but his father is from Mississippi, and he inherited a love for Southern cooking. “Fried green tomatoes take me back to the old school Southern way of cooking,” he says. “This is a dish my wife and daughter love. There is nothing more comforting on a hot day than fresh, tangy, and juicy on the inside and crusty on the outside fried green tomatoes eaten fresh off a cast-iron skillet.” — Molly Abraham
Fried Green Tomatoes (Serves 4)
Ingredients
¼ cup salt/pepper mixture
4 slightly ripened green tomatoes,
cut into slices
½ cup panko crumbs
½ cup yellow cornmeal
Beaten egg whites from four to five eggs
½ cup flour
1 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons bacon grease (optional)
Field greens, julienned red peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette for garnish
Directions
Sprinkle the salt/pepper mixture on tomatoes and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Mix the panko crumbs and cornmeal. Dredge tomatoes in the egg whites, then the flour, back to the egg whites, and finally to the panko crumbs and cornmeal. Heat olive oil and bacon grease, if using, to around 360 F in a medium cast-iron skillet. Cook tomatoes for 4 minutes on each side. The oil should be fairly shallow; don’t cover the tomatoes with grease. Salt lightly while draining on a rack. Place on bed of field greens and red peppers and drizzle a little balsamic vinaigrette on top.
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