Fried Green Tomato Salad with Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

I sure hope that you can still find green tomatoes at your grocery store. I probably should have dreamed up this recipe during the peak of tomato season, but luckily for me I was able to snatch up a few last week for a dinner I put together for my father's birthday. I kept this salad pretty simple: panko breaded fried green tomatoes, shredded Boston bibb lettuce and a Vidalia onion vinaigrette. Now some of you true Southerners may want to slap my wrists for not making the fried green tomatoes with cornmeal. If you're still set on the cornmeal, switch it out with the panko.

Fried Green Tomato Salad

(Printable Recipe)

2 green tomatoes, sliced

2 cups panko bread crumbs

2 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper

1 head Boston bibb lettuce, shredded

Canola oil, for frying

1 recipe Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette (recipe below)

In one bowl, add the panko bread crumbs. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk. In a third bowl, combine the flour with salt and pepper. Heat canola oil in fry pan over medium heat. Fry tomatoes, about 1-2 minutes per side or until they turn crisp and a light golden color. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Season with more salt if needed. 

To assemble, place one fried green tomato on each salad plate. Top with a little shredded lettuce and another fried green tomato. Repeat until you have three tomatoes on the plate. Drizzle salad with Vidalia onion vinaigrette. Serves 4.

Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette

Adapted from Coastal Living

1 medium Vidalia onion (or sweet onion)

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seasons

Peel and roughly chop the onion. Place onions along with sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, sea salt and olive oil in a blender. Puree until emulsified. Remove from blender and stir in the poppy seeds. The dressing can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.