Fried (Green) Tomatoes

This is a flavorful side dish, slightly sour even if your tomatoes are a little more ripe. They are so beautifully golden, with an appealing aroma, they can even tempt children!

I was shopping for green tomatoes, but couldn't find any. I had to settle for almost ripe ones, still more red and juicy than I would have preferred. However, it still worked out perfectly, and while the slices were a little more moist than if they were green tomatoes, they still were very easy to prepare, and the flavor was tangy and tastey. So, this dish is almost fail-proof!

I wanted to try chickpea flour, even though this is usually made with regular wheat flour. I will definitely make this recipe again, with the chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour. In Italian, chickpea flour is farina di ceci, and is often used in Italian cuisine. I wanted to try it in place of wheat flour because some of my friends are on the south beach diet and can't eat regular flour. So it was a big experiment, and it worked perfectly. Ceci-garbanzo-chickpea flour is low in carbs, so it is a "flour" well worth trying! As for taste, if I hadn't cooked it, I wouldn't have known it wasn't wheat flour.

Starring:



3 large tomatoes (unripe if possible)
1/3 cup of flour (chickpea flour if you feed adventurous)
1/3 cup of olive oil
salt

Here's how you prepare this:

Cut tomatoes into slices about 1/2 inch thick.




Place slices on wire rack to drain the juices,

and sprinkle with salt



Let drain for an hour. Flip tomatoes and sprinkle salt again.



after another hour, place the slices on paper towels,





and pat dry with another paper towel gently laid on top of the slices.



Dip the tomato slices in flour being careful to coat both sides well.







Heat oil in a frying pan and arrange slices of tomato in pan with plenty of room. Fry until golden.



Remove the slices, and place on absorbent paper towels briefly. Continue to fry the rest of the tomato slices in the same way. Transfer the tomato slices to a serving platter.



Last but not least, Buon Appetito!