Sliced green tomatoes coated in breadcrumbs, flour or cornmeal and fried until golden. The Olde Pink House serves them with applewood smoked bacon and sweet corn cream; Vic's with goat cheese and smoked cheddar grits.

Historian Robert F. Moss found that newspaper recipes from 1900 to 1911 came from the Northeast and Midwest, and he believes the dish originated there, perhaps with Jewish immigrants. Americans came to know it as a food of the South after the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes, although there is little evidence it was widely prepared in the South earlier.

Where to eat Fried green tomatoes in Savannah

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Make it at home

Serves 425 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 large firm green (unripe) tomatoes, sliced 1cm thick
  • 120g plain flour
  • 2 large eggs, beaten with 60ml buttermilk
  • 150g yellow cornmeal
  • 60g panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
  • Neutral oil for shallow-frying (peanut or canola)
  • Remoulade or hot sauce to serve

Method

  1. Pat the tomato slices dry with a paper towel. Season lightly with salt and let rest 10 minutes; pat dry again.
  2. Set up three shallow bowls: flour in the first; egg-buttermilk in the second; cornmeal mixed with panko, salt, pepper and cayenne in the third.
  3. Dredge each slice in flour (shake off excess), then dip in the egg mixture, then press firmly into the cornmeal coat.
  4. Heat 1cm of oil in a cast-iron skillet to 175C (350F). Fry slices in batches, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deeply golden and crisp.
  5. Drain on a wire rack (not paper towels, which steam the crust). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve hot with remoulade or hot sauce.

Editor tip. Green tomatoes must be firm and truly unripe; ripe tomatoes turn to mush in the fryer. Cornmeal plus panko gives the best crackle.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs.