Well, hello fall! We are never sad to say goodbye to the excessive heat of summer, but we are always sad to say goodbye to tomato season. Our recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with Tarragon Remoulade is our farewell song to the glorious tomatoes we get here in Sacramento, California.

It’s surprisingly difficult to find green tomatoes in our area unless we grow them ourselves and, due to construction projects, we haven’t grown our backyard tomatoes for the first time since we’ve lived here. We are grateful that R. Kelly Farms sells them so we can continue to make this delicious recipe! If you have never tried fried green tomatoes, they are delicious and really easy to make. They are a bit tart if you use truly green tomatoes, but you can also use “mostly green” tomatoes that have just a hint of red for a little sweeter taste. The key is that they not be too ripe or they will be mushy.

We like to serve ours with a tarragon remoulade and some sliced cherry tomatoes. This dish works great as an appetizer or as a full meal.

We hope you are enjoying the first days of fall and lots of good food!

Fried Green Tomatoes with Tarragon Remoulade

For the tomatoes:

• 3-4 green tomatoes
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 egg
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup cornmeal
• ½ cup flour
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying

For the remoulade:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 1 TBSP white wine vinegar
• Zest of ½ lemon
• ½ TBSP sweet paprika
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 TBSP capers, chopped
• 1-½ TBSP chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• Salt to taste

For the remoulade:

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

For the tomatoes:

Slice tomatoes into ¼ inch thick slices. Set on paper towels to absorb moisture.

In the first of 3 pie pans or shallow bowls, place ¼ cup of the flour. In the second pie pan, whisk together the egg and the  buttermilk. In the third pie pan, mix together the remaining ¼ cup of flour, cornmeal, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Dredge the tomatoes in the plain flour, then dip in the buttermilk mixture and dredge in the cornmeal mixture. Transfer to a wire rack. Coat all tomatoes before frying.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat ¼ inch of oil until shimmering but not smoking. Add tomatoes, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove the tomatoes and set them on a wire rack while frying the remaining tomatoes.

To serve, divide the tomatoes evenly between plates and top with tarragon remoulade. Scatter cherry tomatoes on top and garnish with a tarragon sprig.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a meal.