Bacon and Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches

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I was in middle school, hanging at my best friend's house with the neighborhood kids. One boy, George, showed up at the house with a tomato in his hand. He asked for the salt shaker, and proceeded to eat the whole thing like a piece of fruit. I thought he was gross.

And then I tried it. Wow.

A good, fresh, ripe tomato is one of life's simple pleasures. Which is why the concept of fried green tomatoes confused the hell out of me. I mean ... fried = good as an almost universal truth, but why a hard green tomato. I chalked it up to a cultural thing I'd never understand, like driving SUVs or eating okra.


I first tried this recipe for fried green tomato "sandwiches" a few years ago, shortly after I discovered the joy of Boursin. Its gone through a variety of changes. In my original recipe, I actually breaded the tomato slices with panko and used one to top off the sandwich. I think the open-face version is more fun (because you can make two, meaning more Boursin and more bacon!), but feel free to experiment. I find that using flour instead of bread crumbs, and adding lemon zest, allows the taste of the tomato to really come through. Though a bit on the heavy side, this dish, accompanied by a side of lemon vinaigrette-tossed greens, is a delightful spring or summer affair.



I spent all day Saturday cooking with my friends Josh and Erin. In addition to my fried green tomato sandwiches, we had salmon tartar, steak with mushrooms in a red-wine sauce, and strawberry tarts. It was the perfect Spring day to sit on a patio in Virginia and just enjoy the simplest things in life with people that I love. Thus far, one of the best days of 2014.

So, give this recipe a try, or work out your own variation and let me know in the comments!
Ingredients:


  • 1/3 lb thick cut bacon
  • 3 fresh green tomatoes
  • 1 cup flour
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 3 Tbs canola oil
  • 1 package of Boursin
  • Lemon zest


To Prepare:
  1. Slice you bacon in half. On a medium-low heat, slowly cook the bacon in batches until desire crispness is achieved. Remove to a paper towel-covered plate.
  2. In a bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. 
  3. In another bowl, add the two eggs and beat lightly.

  4. Slice the tomatoes thickly. For each tomato, I cut off the top and bottom, then cut the remainder in half. This gave me a total of six green tomato coins; perfect for three people.
  5. In a large pan, heat your canola oil. For added awesomeness, add some of the bacon grease from your bacon pan. Heat the oil to a medium heat.
  6. Dredge a tomato coin in the flour. Shake off any excess flour.
  7. Now dredge the tomato coin in the egg.
  8. Dredge the tomato in the flour once more. Now add the tomato to the heated oil. Repeat for each coin.
  9. Fry the tomato in the pan until the bottom is a crispy golden brown. Now flip, and fry the remaining side to the same golden brown.
  10. Once the tomatoes are finished, move to a paper towel-covered plate to drain some of the grease.
  11. To plate, place a tomato on a plate. Cover with a gob of Boursin.


  12. Add bacon generously to the top of the Boursin.
  13. Finally, zest a bit of lemon over the top of the whole thing.

Et voila! We served with a dry rose and ate outside wearing sunglasses, too cool for school. Bon appetit!

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