Score some extra points during March Madness this year by serving your guests these Fried Green Tomato Bites!
Made with smoky slab bacon, fresh green tomatoes, a creamy pimento cheese spread, panko bread crumbs and a Frisee salad with lemon vinaigrette – These will be gone before you know it.
Recipe created by award-winning Chef John Kunkel.
Don’t miss these other delicious recipes from Chef Kunkel:
Ingredients
For the Sandwiches
- 6 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
- 6 teaspoons sweet tomato sauce (packaged or homemade)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 6 pieces sliced green tomatoes
For the Pimento Cheese Spread
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2 oz. diced roasted red pepper or drained pimentos
- 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
For the Breading
- 1/2 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
For the Frisee Salad
- 6 oz. yellow frisee lettuce (or another sturdy lettuce)
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons lemon vinaigrette (packaged or homemade)
Preparation
- 1 Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- 2 Prepare the tomatoes: Mix the flour, salt and pepper, and place in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the two eggs. Pour the panko bread crumbs on a shallow plate. Coat the tomatoes in the flour mixture, one at a time, making sure to knock off any extra flour, dip the tomato into the eggs, then into the panko. Be sure to coat the tomatoes evenly, then set them aside.
- 3 Sear, then cook — like you would a steak — the thick slices of bacon to render out most of the fat.
- 4 Mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, roasted red peppers and garlic powder in a bowl and set aside.
- 5 Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s to temperature, add the tomatoes and fry them until they are golden brown. Once cooked, remove them and drain them on a paper towel. Season to taste with salt.
- 6 Mix the frisee lettuce, chopped chives and lemon vinaigrette in a bowl and set aside.
- 7 To plate, dollop a bit of tomato sauce onto a plate and place a fried green tomato on top. Top with 1 ounce of the pimento cheese mixture, 1 slice of bacon, another dollop of tomato sauce and 1 ounce of the frisee salad.
Comments