Fried Green Tomatoes With Garlic Aioli

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

For the Tomatoes:

4 green tomatoes (these are unripe tomatoes, not to be confused with some of the fancy heirloom varieties of green tomatoes, such as green zebras), sliced into ½ inch rounds.
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup whole milk
1 cup flour
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 egg
1 cup cornmeal
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

For the Garlic Pickle Aioli:

1 garlic clove
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
½ cup olive oil
¼ bunch parsley, chopped
2 tbsp, chopped pickles plus some juice

Directions:

Put the tomatoes into a bowl and pour ½ cup of the buttermilk over them to soak. While they are "marinating", make the aioli.

In a food processor, add the garlic and egg yolk and pulse until the garlic is broken up. Add the lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper and puree. While the machine is running, slowly pour the olive oil through the spout until a thick emulsion forms. Stop the food processor. Pulse in the parsley, pickles and a splash of the pickle juice. You do not want to over process the pickles, so just a few pulses should do it. Taste and season the aioli with salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside in the refrigerator. This aioli will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

To prepare the tomatoes, set up a breading station with 3 bowls. In the first add the flour, garlic powder and paprika. In the second bowl, add the egg and whisk in ½ cup of milk. In the third, add the cornmeal, salt and pepper. After this station is set, line a sheet pan with paper towels and set near the stove.

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add ¼ inch of vegetable oil. Working one slice at a time, dip a piece of tomato into the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and finally the cornmeal mixture. Set into the frying pan. Do not overcrowd the pan with tomatoes or they will not crisp properly. If the tomatoes do not start to sizzle when you put them in the pan, the oil isn't hot enough and you will need to increase the heat. Once the tomatoes are fried, remove from the pan with a slotted spatula and lay them on the paper towel-lined sheet pan. Hold warm in the oven until all the tomatoes have been fried.

Serve the tomatoes with a dollop of the aioli for a fun appetizer, sandwich or as a southern-style vegetarian dinner with some black-eyed peas and a lovely salad.