Fried Green Tomatoes

This week’s farm share included 2 pounds of green tomatoes. It is unbelievable that we’re still getting tomatoes at this time of year!

I only know two things to do with them and that is to fry them up or pickle them. I’ll fry a couple of batches and can the rest I guess.

Ingredients:
1 medium green tomato
1/4 cup fine corn meal
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Vegetable oil

Directions:
1. Slice the tomato into 1/4 inch slices
 

2. Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl. Whisk in cream and milk until you have a smooth thin batter.
 

3. Add tomatoes to the batter and make sure they are coated well. Allow to sit while you heat oil in a large iron (or non-stick) skillet over medium heat.

4. Fry for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown on one side. Flip and repeat so that both sides are golden brown.
 

5. Remove from skillet, season with salt, and allow to dry on a drying rack or on paper towels.

6. Serve immediately.

Chicken Cacciatore

This is a great hearty meal. It is based on a recipe my Dad makes. It is super simple to make with canned tomatoes. I, of course, had to over complicate things and start with whole totmatoes (trying to use up the batch we got this week from the farm).

Ingredients:
1/2 chicken, skinned and cut into 6 parts
3 lbs tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1/2 cup mixed fresh herbs (parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme)
1 cup red wine
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Wash tomatoes. Heat water and add tomatoes.
 

2. Remove tomatoes after 30 seconds. Peel tomatoes and cut into quarters.
 

3. Slice onions and chop garlic.
 

4.  Add tomatoes, bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes.

5. In the mean time, cut up the chicken.

6. Add chicken, and return to a simmer.
 

7. Keep a slight simmer for 3 hours.

8. Chop herbs. Add herbs and wine and gently stir. 
 

9. Continue to simmer on low for another hour.

10. Plate and serve with a fresh salad and biscuits (to sop up the sauce).

Tomato Sauce

I like simple tomatoe sauce. It is a good start for lots of italian dishes. For spaghetti, I brown italian sausage or meatballs and mix with the sauce until it reduces to the desired consistency. Because I usually cook this again, I leave it a little thinner than a final sauce.

I use a mix of tomatoes and basil varieties to add depth of flavor. Experiment to see what you like.

Ingredients
6 lbs tomatoes, de-skinned and quartered
3 medium onions, diced
1 head of garlic (about 8 cloves) peeled and roughly chopped
2 cups fresh basil, chopped
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup olive oil

Yields 3 pints

Directions
1. Peel tomatoes by boiling each for 30 seconds and dipping in ice water.

2. Heat oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat. Saute onions for about 5 minutes until tranlucent. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more.

3. Add tomatoes, stir to mix, and bring to simmer. Low heat to med-low to maintain a good simmer. Stir very infrequently to prevent scorching. Stirring too often hinders the reduction.

4. The sauce should reduce by about 2/3 in 90 minutes or so. Add red wine and chopped basil. Cook for another 15 minutes.

 

5. Transfer sauce to sterilized pint jars. Place in a pressure canner with about 2 inches of water. Process for 20 minutes. Use sauce in the next 6-9 months.