I receive emails each week with suggestions for dishes I can make with five ingredients. One friend recently told me about her trip to Charleston, S.C., where she ate at a restaurant called Poogan’s Porch. It was there that she had a “Fried Green BLT” that really wowed her, and she was sure it was perfect for Just Five.
I had never had fried green tomatoes, so I was working a bit blind. But my motto is, “If there’s bacon in it, it’ll be all right.” And this being prime tomato season, I figured it was time to give it a shot. Holy moly was this a successful experiment! Just make sure to cook the bacon over low heat in order to render as much fat as possible. It’s also important to grind the panko a bit – not to a fine powder, but to a rough, sandy texture. This will help it adhere to the tomatoes.
Poogan’s uses goat cheese, but I love the added garlic flavor from the boursin. It really makes the sandwich sit up and say, “Hey, y’all!” Five ingredients, one word: delicious.
Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches 4 Servings
8 slices bacon (applewood-smoked, if possible)
4 green tomatoes
2 cups panko
8 slices bread (ciabatta, sourdough or any other hearty bread you like)
Garlic and herb boursin cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• In a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook the bacon, rendering out as much fat as possible. Remove from heat, take the bacon from the skillet and place on paper towels to drain. Leave all of the bacon fat in the skillet.
• Slice tomatoes horizontally into 8 ½-inch slices and toss in the bacon fat until coated on all sides. Put the panko in a food processor and pulse 3 times, so that it’s a rough, sandy texture. Coat the tomatoes with panko, pressing it on both sides.
• Toast the bread.
• Reheat the bacon grease over medium heat and lay the tomatoes in the grease to cook, about 3 minutes per side, until golden. Remove them to a paper towel to drain.
• Spread boursin cheese across 4 slices of toast. Top each with 2 fried tomato slices, 2 slices of bacon, a couple grinds of black pepper and another toasted slice of bread and serve.
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2011.