Fried Green Tomatoes with Stuffed Mushrooms in Tomato Sauce

16 Oct Fried Green Tomatoes with Stuffed Mushrooms in Tomato Sauce

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What do you do when you have an abundance of green and yellow gold cherry tomatoes from your garden? You make fried green tomatoes in a tomato sauce! And, if you also happen to have 4 baby bella mushrooms and you have no idea what to use them in, just throw them in this meal by turning them into panko stuffed mushrooms.

Pick and clean your tomatoes

If you’re really lucky like me, you’ll find an apartment in Brooklyn that came with a back patio, equipped with grill, fire pit, and planting bed! Apparently the previous tenants lived in this apartment for 5 years and did not once plant anything in this garden. In the first two months I lived here, I went to the Hudson valley, and picked up baby tomato plants and green bell pepper plants from a greenery I found on the side of the road. I’ve harvested these tomatoes 6 times this summer, with many more to go. And I have no idea what I’m doing.

Prep your green tomatoes

After I de-stemmed and rinsed the green tomatoes, I cut them into 1/3″ slices. I salted both sides and let it rest for 30 minutes. I’m not sure why I did that, but I think it helps remove some of the extra moisture, which makes it easier to bread and fry? That sounds about right, I think. Either way, it’s a cool technique, which I’m sure others will emulate because it worked. Then I set up three stations, one with seasoned all-purpose flour (garlic powder, oregano), one beaten egg, and seasoned panko bread crumbs (cayenne and paprika). I dipped each tomato slice into the flour mix, then the egg, then the panko and kept them off to the side.

Set up your frying station

When you’re frying things, it’s best to set up stations of what’s uncooked, what’s in the pan, and where do you put your fried items afterwards to dry off excess oil. I set up my breaded tomatoes to the left of my frying pan, in which I used coconut oil. Coconut oil is high in saturated fat, so I wouldn’t deep fry your tomatoes in it. Use more of a shallow pan fry or you can try another oil with a high smoking point. Use a slotted spoon to transfer your cooked tomatoes to a colander lined with paper towel. You will want to remove as much excess oil as possible.

Skip the store bought tomato sauce and make your own

You know what’s really easy to make at home? Any kind of tomato sauce for pasta, pizza, or whatever. Stop wasting your money on store bought stuff when you can easily whip up a sauce from scratch, and it barely takes any time. It also tastes so much better. For this recipe, I minced garlic, white onion, and used tomatoes I had on hand (yellow gold cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes). But use whatever you have. Start by heating some olive oil in a sauce pan, then add your onion. Cook it down for a few minutes, then add your garlic and cook it down for another minute. Add your chopped tomatoes, some salt, stir, bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, and just let it break down for 30 minutes or so. You’re welcome to puree the sauce in a blender, but in this case I kept it chunky. You can also do the cool razor blade garlic trick from Goodfellas, but I lost all my razor blades in prison… Jk. Fuggetaboutit!!

Stuff the mushrooms

I found a recipe for stuffed mushrooms somewhere, and I can’t take credit for the below, but I also couldn’t find the original recipe. So this is adapted from somewhere… I had 4 small portabella mushrooms, a little sliver of mozzarella, a knub of parmesan, some minced garlic and panko bread crumbs, so I said to myself, let’s make stuffed mushrooms, because why not. I normally wouldn’t recommend a breaded on breaded on fried meal, but I was making use of the last items in my fridge. What I liked about this recipe is that it utilized every part of the mushroom. You cut the stems out, and mince them. Sauté the minced stems in a little butter (or ghee), then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat, then shave parmesan directly into the mushroom stem mix, and finally add some panko. Mix it all together and you have the topping for your mushrooms. I tore up the mozzarella into equal portions for each mushroom, then topped the mushrooms with the panko mixture. I stuck them in the oven at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Assemble your plate

When you’re eating fried green tomatoes and stuffed mushrooms, you’ve got a lot of brown and brown. So you’re going to want to brighten up your dish with something, like green chopped green onions. Or better yet, make it a healthier meal by adding a salad or something green and substantial. But, I didn’t have that stuff, so I ate this with my homemade tomato sauce, and had a beer and called it a day. I ate healthier the next day…

Recipe

Serves 1

Ingredients:
– 1 green tomato
– 1 plum tomatoes and 10 yellow gold cherry tomatoes
– 1 medium white onion
– 3-5 cloves of garlic
– 4 small portabella mushrooms
– 1-2 ounces mozzarella
– parmesan
– 1 tablespoon butter or ghee
– 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
– 1 egg
– 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
– paprika
– cayenne
– oregano
– garlic powder
– salt
– Chopped green onion (optional for garnish)

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees (for the mushrooms).
2. Slice your green tomato into 1/3″ strips and salt both sides. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
3. Set up three shallow dishes to coat your tomatoes. In the first dish, you should have all-purpose flour seasoned with garlic powder and oregano, then your beaten egg, followed by most of your panko (save some for the mushrooms) seasoned with cayenne and paprika.
4. Heat coconut oil (or another oil with a high smoke point) in a pan, and start frying your tomato slices for a minute or so per side. With a slotted spoon, transfer them to a paper towel lined colander to remove all excess oil.
5. Make your tomato sauce, by heating minced onion in oil. After a few minutes, add some minced garlic, and let that cook down for about a minute. Then add your chopped tomatoes and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes or until the sauce is nice and broken down.
6. De-stem your mushrooms, and then mince the stems. Throw the minced mushroom stems into a sauté pan with a little butter or ghee. Then add some of your leftover minced garlic. Cook that down for a minute, then remove from heat. Zest parmesan directly into your pan, and add your leftover panko from the tomatoes. Mix together.
7. Distribute mozzarella evenly amongst mushroom caps then top off with panko mixture, and stick it in the oven for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.
8. Add a little sauce to your plate, then pile on some green tomatoes, then your stuffed mushrooms, then top both with a little more of your tomato sauce. Sprinkle some chopped green onions if you’ve got them and enjoy!