The Bold Spices To Amplify Fried Green Tomatoes
If you're looking for a simple, easy summer appetizer that's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, think about serving homemade fried green tomatoes. Unless you're from the southern United States, it's likely you've never tried this crispy, juicy, and criminally underrated dish before. For those unacquainted with delightfully tangy and tart green tomatoes, they're not a special variety of the fruit that you'll have to go hunting for. Rather, they're just the unripe version of the tomatoes you grow in your garden or select at the grocery store.
Their naturally sour flavor makes them ideal candidates for lots of seasoning. Crunchy fried green tomatoes are gratifying by themselves, as most fried things are. However, if you're wanting to bolden up this rather simple appetizer, you'll want to make sure to look through your pantry for some signature spices.
Sprinkling in spice rack mainstays, such as garlic powder and paprika, is one traditional route to take. However, adding a spicy cajun seasoning blend or a handful of bold herbs is one way to add a kick to this otherwise mild dish.
Go bold or go home
If you're following a typical recipe for fried green tomatoes, you likely have everything you need already in your pantry. Sprinkling in salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika, right into your flour mixture is a common step in making this dish. We also recommend adding your choice of smoked paprika, cayenne, chili powder, or another on-hand spice to that list. This is a simple and great way to bring some heat and elevate the overall flavor of the final product. You can also add a few dabs of hot sauce into the egg and milk mixture, which is used to help the breadcrumbs and flour coatings stick to the tomatoes before frying. However, if you're looking for a true flavor booster, turning to a pre-made spice blend is another option.
The Washington Post recommends adding cajun seasoning, which typically consists of white and black pepper, garlic and onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. However, there are plenty of different takes on this popular mix, from adding a generous pinch of spicy chipotle pepper to an earthy addition of cumin.
Whether you're aiming for a more classic take on this tasty dish but want to add a bit of boldness, or you want a new flavor profile brought on by strong cajun flavors, you can't go wrong. Fried green tomatoes are the perfect base for your creative instincts to shine, and you'll likely keep making this dish over and over again all summer long.