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Thoughts from an Epicure: Make the most of those extra tomatoes

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Now that summer is a memory and autumn is upon us, I like to have my lunches al fresco when the weather is cooperative. My preference is full sun and a mild breeze.

This is the time of year when home gardeners often have extra tomatoes. If you are one of them or have a friend who is, you’re lucky. One of my favorite al fresco lunches is stuffed tomatoes. Take a large ripe one and cut off about ½” of the stem end. Scoop out most of the insides, especially the seeds. Save the tomato end and insides for a salad. Fill the tomato with cottage cheese and sprinkle the top with fresh dill or chopped basil. I often have this with a glass of cool white wine.

Another way to enjoy late season tomatoes is fried. I have fried tomatoes for years. However, recently, while going through a box of my mother’s recipes, I found one for fried tomatoes that’s a little different from mine. Since I just found it, I haven’t tried it yet. But it sounds fool-proof. Here it is:

Mother’s Fried Tomatoes

½ cup flour

½ cup bread crumbs

½ teaspoon salt (I won’t use this the first time)

½ teaspoon pepper

5 medium size tomatoes

2 tablespoons butter (I’ll use olive oil)

½ cup brown sugar

Sift first four ingredients together. Slice off stem ends of tomatoes to make them flat. Cut into ¼-inch slices. Coat both sides with flour mixture and rest on waxed paper. Allow to rest for a few minutes. Heat skillet, then add butter or oil. When butter is foaming, put in tomato slices and cook on medium high heat. After about 4 minutes, turn slices over and brown other sides. Sprinkle brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon, on each cooked side while other sides are browning. Serve hot.

If you have suggestions or questions for this column, please contact me directly at guthrielarason@verizon.net.


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