An Inspired Cook

Every summer when those green tomatoes start showing up at the farmers market, I just have to have a few.  It’s one of our favorites and I think what makes it special is that I only make them once a year so everyone looks forward to them. This year I decided to re-create an appetizer that Joe and I had on vacation in Gulfport, MS  a few years back. It was deemed a Gulf Coast favorite layering fried green tomatoes with a spicy cream sauce with crawfish tails, bacon, mushrooms and green onions.  It was sinfully delicious and I knew one day I would like to try and make it myself.  I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off but they were a big hit and now we can’t wait until next summer and our next fried green tomatoes.

I started with some butter and flour to make a roux.  The rest included heavy whipping cream, crawfish tails, bacon, mushrooms, green onions, and seasoned with creole seasoning, cayenne pepper and salt.

First things first, make the roux.  Start by melting the butter in a cast iron skillet.

Add in the flour and let it cook for a couple minutes just to start browning.  Now add the sliced mushrooms.  They will start to soften and release their juices as you stir them around.

When the mushrooms have cooked down a bit add the cream and spices to the pan.  Stir around until the sauce begins to thicken.

Next add the cooked bacon bits and sliced green onion.

Since the crawfish tails were already cooked I added them last so they wouldn’t overcook and become rubbery.

I cut one tomato per person, 3 for dinner tonight.   I assembled the FGT seasonings, buttermilk and flour cornmeal mix.

Sprinkle some FGT seasoning over the slices.

Dip each slice in the buttermilk and then bread with the cornmeal flour mix.  Place the slices in a heated heavy skillet with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 inch).  Let them fry for 3 – 4 minutes on each side.

Flip them to cook the other side.

All that’s left is layering them on your plate with some crawfish cream ladled over top.  A couple slices of crusty french bread on the side to sop up any leftovers is good too!





Fried Green Tomatoes with Crawfish Cream Sauce 

Fried Green Tomatoes
3 or 4 large Green Tomatoes, sliced
FGT Seasoning, recipe follows
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Cornmeal
Canola oil for frying

Crawfish Cream Sauce

2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning (I used Tony Chachere’s)
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
6 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup sliced Green Onions
1 pound cooked Crawfish Tails
Salt to taste

To make the cream sauce, first melt the butter in a heavy skillet.  Once the butter has melted, add the flour and stir over medium high heat to make a roux.  Add in the sliced mushrooms and let cook a few minutes while they begin to soften and release their juices.  Pour in the heavy cream, creole seasoning and cayenne pepper.  Stir until the sauce begins to thicken.  Add in the cooked bacon bits, green onion slices and crawfish tails.  Salt to taste.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat with 1/4 inch of canola oil.   Slice tomatoes and sprinkle with FGT seasoning. Combine flour and cornmeal together.  Dip each tomato slice in the buttermilk and then dredge into the flour/cornmeal mixture.  Place tomato slices in the hot oil and fry 3 – 4 minutes on each side until crisp and browned.  Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and blot excess oil.  Repeat process and add additional oil for frying next batch.

Layer tomato slices on a plate and ladle with crawfish cream sauce.   Serve with crusty french bread.

Makes 4 servings.

FGT Seasoning Mix (from Paul Prudhomme’s Kentucky Fried Tomatoes)

2 teaspoons Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Mustard Powder
1 teaspoon White Pepper
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Sweet Basil
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Coriander
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg