Fried Green Tomatoes with a Shrimp and Tomato Basil Cream
Sauce
A couple of weeks ago someone shared a picture of this
dish. I went to the linked blog and they
got the idea from a restaurant, now closed, that served it as an
appetizer. I thought it sounded
interesting but that’s as far as I got.
Some ideas just hang out in the back of my mind until the opportunity
arises and they pop to the forefront.
One of the benefits of living in coastal Virginia, Norfolk
to be precise, is that the weather is conducive to keeping a garden running 9 –
10 months of the year. I left one of my
tomato plants when clearing and prepping for the Fall garden and that plant has
really taken off. Several tomatoes got
to be of sufficient size to pick green for frying and low and behold the idea
for this dish came back.
Being the good Southern boy I am this seems to be a proper
Southern dish though more likely to be coastal in origin like Shrimp and Grits
were. I also think this sauce would be
good served over rice or pasta as a standalone entrée.
Fried Green Tomatoes with a Shrimp and Tomato Basil Cream
Sauce
 |
| A fine tasty supper |
Seasoned flour
Cornmeal mix
1 egg
Milk
Oil
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off, large 35-41
Shrimp dry brine
Cajun seasoning
1 quart canned tomatoes, drained juice retained
1 shallot, fine dice
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs dry basil or ¼ cup minced fresh basil
¼ - ½ cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Vodka
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
Fried Green
Tomatoes. Make an egg wash using the egg
and milk. Slice tomatoes ½ inch
thick. Dust in seasoned flour, dip in
the egg wash, then coat with the cornmeal mix.
Set on rack to dry while the oil heats in the skillet. Fry until golden on both sides and tomato is
done but still has a little firmness.
Sprinkle the
dry brine over the shrimp and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Rinse the dry brine off with cold water and
dry the shrimp then season to your preferred level with Cajun seasoning. Keep ready to add to the sauce.
Melt the
butter in a pot then add the shallot and garlic. Once the shallot turns translucent add the tomatoes. Roughly break up the tomatoes with a spoon
and bring to a simmer. Stir in the basil
and the red pepper flakes. Add ¼ cup
heavy cream and ¼ cup reserved tomato juice and the 1/4 cup vodka and mix well. Add more if you want the sauce more liquid or
if it reduces too much. Let the sauce
simmer for 10 minutes then stir in the seasoned shrimp just before the tomatoes
are done. It will take the shrimp just 4
– 5 minutes to cook at the simmer. Taste
and add salt if needed.
To serve,
arrange 3 slices of fried green tomato on a plate and top with the Shrimp and
Tomato Basil Cream Sauce. Rice or the
Rice/Quinoa mix from Rice Selects is an excellent accompaniment.
Notes: Seasoned flour and the cornmeal mix is something I make and keep on hand in the freezer. The seasoned flour is simply AP flour with salt, pepper, and garlic powder added. The cornmeal mix is 3 parts cornmeal to 2 parts cornstarch and salt. The cornmeal mix is used for fried green tomatoes, fried shrimp, and fried okra. The seasoned flour gets used for fried chicken and as a base coat before the egg wash for anything coated with the cornmeal mix.
As noted
above, this sauce would be good with rice or pasta. I can attest that it is good with rice as I
had it that way for lunch using some leftovers.
The sauce, like many things, improves in flavor after sitting a day or
two. To reheat, just put in a pot on
medium heat and bring to a simmer and serve so the shrimp doesn’t overcook.
I hope you
give this recipe a try. It will
definitely be a recurring dish here at One Tree Orchard. As usual you can tweak things to suit your taste. Let me know what you think.
Uncle T.
