Fried Green Tomato Stack With Kentucky Tomme On A Fresh Tomato Concasse Topped With Baby Arugula Garnished With Nasturtium Flowers Recipes

BEST FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Steps:

• Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.
• Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.
• In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.

RED, JUICY, HERB-FRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together basil, thyme, salt, and white pepper. Mix in 5 teaspoons olive oil to make a spreadable paste. Spread paste on cut side of each tomato half.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in small skillet over medium-low heat. Place tomatoes herb-side down in skillet, and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes; tomatoes should be hot but not stewed. Serve immediately.

SLICED HEIRLOOM TOMATO STACK WITH BLUE CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl spread out the rice coating. Take onion rings and coat with buttermilk, and then cover with coating, shaking off excess. Place coated rings on a tray.
• In a large deep saucepan, heat peanut oil to 375 degrees F. With a slotted wire spoon, carefully lower the coated rings into pan to fry. Do the rings in small batches to allow oil to remain a consistent temperature. Place fried rings on a paper towel on a tray to dry.
• Tomato Stack:
• Cut a small slice from the bottom of the tomatoes - enough so that they will stand. Slice the tomatoes into 1/2-inch thick slices (about 2 or 3), leaving the stem on top.
• Season the slices with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with olive oil.
• Place the basil leaves in between the tomato slices, and re-stack tomato. Serve re-stacked tomatoes around a larger stack of onion rings in center of a large serving plate. Drizzle more olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Grate the frozen blue cheese over top.
• Grind the rice in a blender until very fine. Put it in a bowl and add the all-purpose flour, semolina, salt and pepper. Toss until well blended. Store in a sealed container in the freezer for maximum freshness.

GRUYERE AND CHEDDAR FRICO WITH ARUGULA SALAD

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, toss together both cheeses and the flour. Heat a large nonstick skillet over a low to medium flame and sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture onto the pan to form a 4-inch circle. Sprinkle some thyme over the cheese and cook until the cheese is somewhat melted but not firm. Using a spatula, turn the cheese over and cook until firm and golden.
• Transfer the frico to a paper towel, then quickly drape over a large rolling pin until completely cooled, to form a shell shape.
• To serve, remove from pin and top each frico with arugula salad.
• In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, shallots, mustard, and honey. Whisk in the olive oil and add salt and pepper, to taste. Lightly dress arugula leaves with the vinaigrette.

KENTUCKY BENEDICTINE

Steps:

• Grate the unpeeled cucumbers on a box grater. Wrap in a kitchen towel and wring out any excess liquid.
• Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and hot sauce in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cucumbers, chives, parsley, dill and scallions and pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides several times, until pale green and almost smooth. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
• Spread the Benedictine on the zucchini and squash slices and garnish with reserved dill fronds.

FRIED GREEN TOMATO STACKS

Steps:

• Mix the first 4 ingredients and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; refrigerate until serving. Place flour in a shallow bowl; place egg whites in a separate shallow bowl. In a third bowl, mix cornmeal, salt and remaining pepper., Cut each tomato crosswise into 4 slices. Lightly coat each slice in flour; shake off excess. Dip in egg whites, then in cornmeal mixture., In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. In batches, cook tomatoes until golden brown, 4-5 minutes per side., In same pan, lightly brown Canadian bacon on both sides. For each serving, stack 1 slice each green tomato, bacon and red tomato. Serve with sauce.

KENTUCKY STYLE FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat. In one small bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal and pepper. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk using a fork.
• Dip the tomato slices into the egg and milk, then coat with the dry mixture. Place the breaded tomato slices in the hot bacon grease. Cook until browned on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Bacon grease burns easily, so adjust your heat if you need to.

FRIED GREEN TOMATO STACK WITH KENTUCKY TOMME ON A FRESH TOMATO CONCASSE, TOPPED WITH BABY ARUGULA, GARNISHED WITH NASTURTIUM FLOWERS

Steps:

• Tomato Concasse:
• Blanch tomatoes briefly in boiling water to loosen the skins, then peel, seed and juice them. Dice the tomato flesh. Add chives, salt, and white pepper.
• Fried Green Tomatoes:
• Tomatoes that are showing a little pink coloration amid the green, as they just begin to turn red, are thought to have the best flavor. Slice them, skin on, so that you have 3 (1/4-inch) slices from each. Sprinkle the slices with a mixture of kosher salt, sugar, and black pepper.
• For the coating, mix together the best stone-ground white cornmeal you can find (Weisenberger Mills cornmeal is excellent), and flour. Dip the seasoned tomato slices in the cornmeal mixture.
• Film a heavy skillet (in Kentucky, a black cast iron skillet is favored) with a generous amount of bacon fat. (Have more bacon fat ready to add to the skillet if the tomatoes absorb too much. If you've dietary qualms about this, use half bacon fat and half canola oil. For the saute, any kind of fat or oil will do, but the bacon clearly gives the best and most authentic taste.) Heat the oil until fairly hot, but not quite smoking. Fry the coated tomatoes approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side, being sure not to crowd the skillet. Drain the slices on paper towels, and keep warm in a very low oven.
• To assemble:
• Slice cheese into very thin slices.
• Make sure the fried green tomatoes are still very warm (you may want to slightly increase the oven temperature at the last minute to make sure). On each of 4 warmed plates, spoon out a thin layer of the tomato concasse in a circle that will extend beyond the tomato stack. Place a tomato slice on each plate, and cover (overlapping just a bit) with the thin cheese slices; place another tomato slice on each, and repeat the cheese placement; top each with the remaining slices. Do this as quickly as you can so that the cheese melts just slightly (you may place the plates briefly back in the oven to do this, but guard against the tomato crusts becoming soggy).
• When ready to serve, top each stack with micro-greens (we like baby arugula for this extra taste treat), and garnish the plates with nasturtium flowers, adding the piquant taste of watercress to the dish. (If you don't have nasturtium flowers, you might dot the plate with droplets of reduced balsamic vinegar.) Serve at once.

TOMATOES, MOZZARELLA AND EDIBLE FLOWERS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl combine, salt and pepper, mustard and chives. Stir in the vinegar. Slowly add the oil, whisking continually.
• Arrange tomatoes and cheese in an attractive manner on four salad plates. Garnish with flowers (whole or broken into petals). Serve with dressing.