Fried Green Tomatoes with a Shrimp and Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

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.

A fine tasty supper

Fried Green Tomatoes with a Shrimp and Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

3 medium size green tomatoes
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.

Smoked Lamb Breast, Fried Okra, and Deconstructed Elotes

We are rather odd for Americans in that we like and frequently eat lamb and goat.  Strangely enough, I usually prefer the taste and texture of leg of lamb over lamb chops.

Some time ago I was at WalMart and cruising down the meat case.  Not sure why because I don't buy meat there.  This time though, I ended up buying some.  The reason being they had American raised lamb breast.  Lamb breast is the same cut as pork spareribs.  I decided to give them a try since they were American raised.  I find Australian lamb most often.

A nice package of American grown lamb breast

The lamb breast was seasoned with my general purpose rub that is very good with lamb, pork, and poultry.  It was smoked with hickory until an internal temperature of 180F.  This got the meat cooked to the point of being easily bitten and the fat is melty and flavorful.  You can use whatever rub you'd like.

Lamb breast ready to come of the smoke

Since our Okra was producing well and a few had gotten big enough that they wouldn't be tender enough to eat boiled I made fried okra.  My method for fried okra is simple and yields a good crispy coating.  Cut the okra into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and toss in seasoned flour.  Shake off the excess flour and dip in an egg wash.  Let the excess egg wash drip off and toss in a mix of corn meal and corn starch.  I use a 4-1 ratio.  You just need enough of the corn starch to help it get crispy crunchy.  Then fry in a skillet or deep fry until crispy and you have the color you desire.

Smoked lamb breast, deconstructed elotes, and fried okra

I'd been seeing Mexican street corn, Elotes, on the cooking shows for some time prior to this.  Since I didn't feel like taking the time to thaw out some ears of corn I decided to make a deconstructed version.  We were quite pleased with how it turned out and have done it several times since.

Deconstructed Elotes

2 cups whole kernel corn
2 Tbs butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cotija cheese, grated
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbs minced cilantro
pinch chipotle powder
smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Melt butter in cast iron skillet over med heat and add the corn. Cook, stirring time to time, until the corn picks up some color. While the corn is cooking, combine the mayo, cheese, chili powder, cilantro, salt, pepper, and chipotle powder in a bowl and mix well. When the corn is done, add it to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust if needed. Once on the plate sprinkle with the smoked paprika as garnish.

All these go well together or would do well with completely different menus.  I will say I gave the Elotes recipe to someone that was looking for something different to do with corn.  A couple of days later she let me know it was a hit and her husband cleaned it up.

Give these a try and let me know what you think.

Uncle T

Potatoes and Okra

Potatoes and okra, two of my favorite plant based foods.  Given my ancestral make up I almost think I'm genetically programmed to like potatoes.  Of course, potatoes are a Southern staple and it's hard to think of a day without potatoes in some form.  Needless to say, even though not many potato recipes appear here, we eat a lot of potatoes.

All mixed up and ready for the skillet

I was wondering about a way to use some larger okra instead of frying them when I saw a reference to this dish in an email about potential things I'd like from Pinterest.  I got to looking around and found quite a few.  After that, it was just a matter of deciding how my version would be constructed.


Potatoes and Okra


2-3 russet potatoes, diced 3/8 inch
2-3 cups sliced okra
1 cup sliced red pepper
1/2 cup bacon grease\
1/2 cup corn meal mix
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp roasted cumin
1-2 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper


Dice the potatoes and slice the okra and red pepper and put them in a large bowl.  Add the corn meal mix and toss to coat.  Add the spices by pinches and toss after each pinch.  Taste a bit to see when you get the seasoning level you like.  Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet.  Once the bacon grease is hot add the potato and okra mix to the skillet.  The skillet will be full.  Let cook for a bit then gently turn to keep the crusty part with the potatoes and okra it formed with.  Repeat until the potatoes are cooked and there are crispy bits scattered throughout.  Serve hot.  Serves 4-5.

Cooked and ready to serve

A note about bacon grease, like a good old school Southerner, I have a bacon grease pot in the cabinet.  If you don't have bacon grease, you can fry up 6 - 8 slices of bacon and use the grease from that though you may need to add some additional oil to get the correct amount.  Alternately,  you could use lard or vegetable oil of some sort but the vegetable oil won't add anything to the flavor.

We paired this dish with pan fried salmon and it was great.  I've talked about this method with salmon before.  Spread softened butter on the skin of the salmon and season with salt and pepper and place in  a hot skillet.  Season the flesh side and when the cook line is about halfway up the fillet turn it and cook the rest of the way. 

The potatoes and okra did well as leftovers also.  I added some more bacon grease to a skillet and refried them until heated through.  The leftovers were served with pork chops.

This is a simple filling dish that could stand alone if you wanted a vegetarian meal, just use vegetable oil in place of the bacon grease or lard.  However it is eaten it will be a winner.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Uncle T