I'm a southern girl. You know, the born in Texas sort... It's not an uncommon place to find fried anything all around you here in the Lone Star State. I mean, have you been to our State Fair? Eek gads, man! Even so, I've got to be honest here. The only thing I care for at all that is fried would be french fries, pickles, and of course... tomatoes!
As you can imagine, fried tomatoes (especially green ones) were once a common place and a staple to southern food. Now though? You're hard pressed to find a single place in a giant city that fries them anymore.
A couple months back I was venturing out and trying a newly opened movie theater over closer to my mother's end of the world here in Austin. I don't know about you, but from what I remember, back when I was a young girl your options at movie theaters were fairly limited. I'm talking hot dogs, pop corn, soda, and an array over overly priced candies. In today's world though, the most of the movie theaters that I go to are all about beer, wine, and gourmet foods! This particular place was no different, featuring an amazing wine selection and beautiful food options that put those old-time hot dogs to bed.
At any rate, my sister-in-law and I decided to share a 'date plate' that was comprised of all sorts of naughty delights; whipped feta, chevere, sausage, candied fruits, and at long last... fried green tomatoes! It was super delicious, and all too inspiring. But, since I don't fry anything in my house... how was I going to attempt these fried tomatoes?
Pft. No sweat! I faux fry all the time! What is faux frying? Well, it's basically taking a traditional fried food and making it less fattening by baking it in such a way that you won't even notice, much less care, that it's not fried.
Take these Baked Faux Fil-A Nuggets for example, or this Skinny Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Or even better, these Faux Refried Beans. Corn Dogs? Yep. I bake those too!
The tricky part to coming up with a fried tomato recipe was definitely thinking up a breading. It had to be something substantial enough to stand up to the natural juices of the sliced tomato. That got me thinking back to a recent gluten free recipe that I did with some Almond & Flax Chicken Nuggets. Their crust was almost what I was looking for in a breading, though maybe with a few adjustments.
This crunchy, and very lightly sweetened cereal was a perfect companion to cut the natural acids of the tomato. Plus, it gave me the crunchy texture that I was looking for in the coating of these faux fried tomatoes.
Skinny Faux 'Fried' Tomatoes
TheSkinnyFork.com
The Skinny:
Calculated as an Appetizer Potion
Servings: 6 • Size: 2 Tomato Slices • Calories: 78.2 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 5.9 g • Fiber: 2.12 g • Protein: 5.3 g • Sugar: 2.2 g • Sodium: 109.4 mg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat the foil with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Transfer the crumbs to a small shallow bowl and set aside.
Whisk the egg together with some salt and pepper in another small shallow bowl.
Set up your dredging station
Dip each tomato spice fully into the egg, then press the egg coated tomato into the crumb mixture to coat both sides well and evenly.
Set any leftover crumb mixture aside to use if needed during the baking process.
Carefully place the crusted tomatoes onto the prepared baking sheet.
Place into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Now for the tricky part... carefully flip the tomatoes over. You do have to have a little bit of patients and fitness with these.
Don't worry if any of the breading comes off. Just use the reserved crumb mixture that you set aside to 'fill in the gaps'.
Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the breading is starting to brown on the top of the tomatoes.
Again, you're going to have to carefully remove these tomatoes from the foil to transfer to a plate.
This time around it should be a little easier, but it's something to keep in mind!
Serve right away!
We found the Quaker® Oatmeal Squares in the cereal row. Right smack in the middle.
If you can't find them there... then the little monster there on the right probably has them all in her belly! Teehee. Just kidding! But, in all seriousness. This cereal is rather addicting. I had it on my counter and kept digging into it!
Enjoy with a splash of hot sauce and some ranch to dip, or whatever else tickles your fancy!
I've shared my gourmet movie going experience with you; I'd love to hear about yours! Leave a comment sharing your favorite gourmet movie treat or eat.
