Author Notes: During the long New England winter I dream about these tomatoes. I lie in bed during the seemingly endless cold nights, in flannel pajamas under three layers of heavy blankets, and fantasize about bare legs, short sleeves and a griddle full of these sizzling away on the stove. In the summertime fantasies turn to reality, and if there isn’t a huge batch of these sizzling away on the stove at least once a week, withdrawal symptoms begin to set in. —Slow Club Cookery
Serves: 4
Ingredients
-
4
Large firm, ripe red tomatoes
-
2
tablespoons ground flax seeds
-
6
tablespoons boiling water
-
1/2
cup non dairy milk
-
1
cup cornmeal
-
1
cup all purpose flour
-
1
tablespoon finely ground sea salt
-
1
tablespoon finely minced fresh or dried oregano
-
1 1/2
teaspoons finely minced fresh or dried basil
-
1 1/2
teaspoons ground black pepper
-
1
tablespoon finely minced garlic
-
1/4
cup canola or olive oil for frying, plus extra as needed
-
1
teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
Directions
- Wash and core tomatoes and cut into 1/2″ slices.
- In a medium bowl whisk together ground flax seeds and boiling water, set aside and allow to thicken and cool.
- Combine cornmeal, flour, oregano, basil, black pepper, garlic, crushed red pepper and salt. Stir until well combined.
- Once flax mixture is slightly cooled and gelatinous, whisk in non-dairy milk.
-
Heat a stovetop griddle or large nonstick pan over medium high heat.
Add enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. You can use a silicone pastry brush to get a thin, evenly distributed layer of oil. - Dredge tomato slices first through flour mix, into wet mixture, and back into flour again, making sure they are fully coated.
-
Add to hot pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, adding an extra drizzle of oil as needed.
If using a large griddle, you should be able to cook all the tomatoes in one batch.
If using a smaller pan, split into two batches. - Serve immediately with a generous scoop of pesto, fresh basil and/or a lemon wedge.