Fried Green Samis

This recipe was drawn together from a few different sources of inspiration.

 

First, as I've mentioned, I recently started a new job. It's in the same general area as my previous jobs, but at the opposite end of the road. The end of the road with no good lunch places! I was spoiled rotten being at the other end of town - there were various fast food restaurants, mom-and-pop delis, sit-down restaurants, and plenty of healthy options. You know how obsessed with food I am, and I was in food-lovers heaven! Where I work now there are basically two options for lunch: Quiznos (sorry, but... bleh!) and a buffet/sandwich shop, which oddly enough, also serves sushi. Being that I'm not a fan of Quiznos, I have been making my daily lunch excursions and keep ending up at the buffet place. I pay by the pound for salad, various salad dishes, hot food, and the occasional tuna sub. It gets old. This week I was craving a good, harty sandwich, one like I used to be able to get at the good end of town! Since they aren't available anywhere at lunch time, I figured I would take the matter into my own hands, and make myself one for dinner. Craving solved.

 

OK, so I had the sandwich idea, now - what to put IN the sandwich. My mind wandered to a happy hour my neighbors and I had a few weeks ago at a new restaurant that opened in our 'hood. We sat in the bar area with the intention of trying some of their drinks and ordering some noshes from the bar menu. The first thing that jumped out at us were the fried green tomatoes. I LOVE fried green tomatoes! If they are on a menu, I order them. Unfortunately, these FGT left a lot to be desired. And by that, I mean they were awful. (Notice how I am purposely leaving out the name of this restaurant, and now you know why...) We managed to choke down two slices between three of us, and spent the night discussing how much better we could've made them at home! Given this experience, I decided it was time to prove myself right, and indeed make some FGT at home and include them in my sandwich recipe.

 

I had the sandwich, the main ingredient, and then I needed some condiments. A neighbor of mine had introduced me to a very simple yet delicious amuse bouche at one of our happy hours at home: you take a small spoonful of goat cheese and stuff it inside these hollowed out peppers - peppadews. The peppadews are spicy and the goat cheese helps to mellow them out. It's a great balance of flavors. Goat cheese goes really well with FGT and my sandwich could use a little spice, so I decided to add both of these things to my sami.

 

I picked up some ciabatta bread (you know, the kind that tears up the roof of your mouth as you're biting into it? Yes!) and remembered I had some baby spinach at home. My sandwich was coming together very nicely. This is a little on the heavy side for what I have been eating lately, but I figured that with the lack of sandwiches in my life due to inaccessibility during the work day, and the fact that I went for a long run before I made this sami, I could go ahead and indulge! And that I did!

 

Being that it's November, green tomatoes were difficult to come across at my local grocery store. I had to use what I could find - so I found the greenest tomatoes I could. I suggest you do the same if you're in an area with limited access to green tomatoes. Also, this recipe is vegetarian since I was making it for myself, but I couldn't help but think that some thick-cut, crunchy bacon would be an amazing addition to this sandwich if you happen to be a meat eater.

 

OK, let's get cookin'!

 

Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches

Servings: 1

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 7 minutes

 

The FGT

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

2 medium green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus an extra pinch

1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)

1 egg

1 teaspoon sweetened condensed milk

 

 

Start by placing a non-stick frying pan on your stove over medium high heat and adding the 1/4 cup of EVOO. 

Allow the oil to heat up while you're coating your tomatoes in the egg bath and flour.

Before doing anything else, let's get a little prep work out of the way. You are going to want to drain the oil from your FGT after they cook, so get that set-up ready now. Place a paper towel or two over a dinner plate and set it beside your frying pan.

Now you are ready to get to work.

Lay two plates - one large, one small - side by side. Fill one with the flour, garlic powder, FCBP, and sea salt. Stir together.

On the other plate, crack the egg and use a fork to scramble it. Add the teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk and scramble that into the egg.

Douse each tomato slice in the egg bath, making sure to cover both sides...

Then place the slices into the flour mixture.

Flip each side over and use your fingers to completely coat the slices in the flour.

Gather all of the coated slices together on a plate so that they are ready for frying at the same time.

Test your oil to make sure it's ready for frying by placing the handle of a wooden spoon into it. If there are little bubbles streaming rapidly from the spoon, it is ready.

 

Place the slices of coated tomatoes into the oil.

They cook very, very quickly, so do not walk away or do anything else while they are in the oil. (And incidentally, do not wear a sports bra as your "shirt" when frying things - I had to learn that lesson the hard way! haha The oil pops out and burns your exposed skin!)

Flip them over after they have cooked on the first side for about 30 seconds. They should be golden brown.

Once they have cooked on the second side for 20-30 seconds, remove the slices from the pan and place them on your paper towel covered plate.

Sprinkle the top of the fried slices with a pinch of salt.

Set them aside to cool while you make the condiments and prepare to assemble the samis.

The Samis
10 peppadews
4 large basil leaves
4 teaspoons plain, soft goat cheese
1 handful baby spinach leaves
2 slices of ciabatta bread
1 teaspoon balsamic & EVOO dressing (I got mine from Tastefully Simple!)

Place a heavy skillet on the stove over medium heat. Allow the pan to get hot while you're assembling your sandwiches.

Start by making the first condiment: Add all of the peppadews and the basil leaves to a food processor.

Turn on the processor and let it chop the peppadews & basil leaves until they are minced, like a relish.

Next, lay your ciabatta slices on a flat surface.

Spread half of the goat cheese onto the inside of each slice of bread.

Next, spoon out some of the peppadew relish and spread it over the goat cheese on one or both sides of the bread. I only did one side, but after eating it I realized that I could use more spice and next time I would spread it on both sides of the bread.

Pile the fried green tomatoes on one side of the bread. I managed to get six slices on mine:

Layer the spinch atop the FGT.

Place the second slice of bread over the spinach and press it down with your hand.

Now it's ready for cooking.

Drizzle the balsamic/EVOO dressking into your skillet and spread it around. This will give a little extra flavor to the outside of your bread and also help to make it crispy while it's cooking.

Place the sandwich in the center of your skillet.

Use another heavy skillet or Dutch oven to set on top of the sandwich to press it down. We are essentially making a panini.

After the first side cooks for about three minutes, remove the top skillet/Dutch oven, and flip the sandwich over.

Replace the skillet/Dutch oven and allow the second side to cook for another three minutes.

Remove the skillet/Dutch oven and take the sami out of the skillet. It should be flattened and toasty. Place it on a cutting board.

Use a bread knife to cut the sandwich in half. How tasty does this look?!

Set it on your serving plate and eat immediately!

Salute!