Southwestern Fried Green Tomatoes

Southwestern Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:
Tomatoes, 5. They don’t have to be green (I actually like yellow the best), but they do have to be hard! Get the hardest, most awfully unripe tomatoes you can find! An added perk to this is that all the other shoppers will thank you :)
1 cup milk
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 teaspoon garlic powder (salt-free)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon (or more) ground chipotle or cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons salt
olive oil
salsa, guacamole, sour cream (optional toppings)

Directions:
In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork.
Put the milk in a separate bowl.
Slice the tomatoes about 1/3 of an inch thick. Only keep the pretty, center slices; pitch the tops and bottoms.
Cover the bottom of a NON-STICK pan thinly with olive oil. (Non-stick. I can't emphasize this enough.) Heat it on medium until hot, but not smoking.
Dip your tomato slices into the milk, then flop them in the dry ingredient mixture. Pat the mixture around them till well covered.
Place them in the pan, and fry. Resist the temptation to flip them until you see the edges begin to curl slightly up… waiting helps keep the breading on the tomatoes, instead of loose in the pan.
When fried to a lovely golden brown color on both sides, remove from the oil to a paper towel. Repeat!

This recipe is great because the breading gets really crispy, which is hard to achieve on vegetables without a deep-frier. And save the leftovers for breakfast in the morning! Serve with any of your favorite southwestern condiments!