I love fried green tomatoes. I only allow myself to eat one every couple years because it seems so wrong. But this summer, I came up with an unfried version that I actually like better than the fried. I am pretty much in LOVE with these unfried tomatoes.

Why?

First, I coat the tomato in horseradish sauce. Talk about delicious. Then, I encrust the tomato in Panko and French Fried Onions and bake at 450. Talk about delicious. You have to eat them right away to prevent them from getting soggy.

Unfried Green Tomatoes with Horseradish

2 medium green tomatoes

1/3 cup Woeber’s horseradish sauce (or your favorite)

3 tablespoons light mayonnaise

Salt and pepper

½ cup regular panko breadcrumbs

¾ cup French Fried Onions

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450. Place a metal baking dish, covered in aluminum foil, in the oven when you turn it on.

Slice tomatoes, pat dry, and salt and pepper each piece. Set aside.

Stir together horseradish sauce and mayonnaise and set aside.

On a plate, combine breadcrumbs and onions and toss with your hands. Your fingers will get dirty making this dish, so keep a towel handy.

Dip tomatoes in mayonnaise mixture being sure to coat the tomato as much as possible. Then dip it into the panko breadcrumbs and onions and press the mixture into the tomato. You want it coated as well as possible. Do this with each tomato slice.

When oven is preheated, carefully remove the hot pan with oven mitts and spray the foil with cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the pan and spray the tops of the tomatoes.

Bake for 12 minutes and serve warm. Note: I don’t flip them in the cooking process because too much coating is lost. You will have a soft tomato and crunchy tops.

Now, there’s no comparison in terms of the photography. Fried green tomatoes look a lot better on camera. But in the mouth, I’ll take the unfried.

Panko Encrusted Fried Green Tomatoes with Dill Sauce

2 large green tomatoes

Salt

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon pepper

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons half and half

1 ½ cups Italian panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Canola or vegetable oil for frying

For the sauce: stir together sour cream and dill. Cover and refrigerate until time to serve.

For this recipe, you want to work close to the stove. Get your station set up before you heat the oil.

Slice tomatoes into 1/3 to ½ inch slices.  Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

On a medium plate, stir together flour, garlic salt and pepper.

Whisk together eggs and half and half and set in a shallow bowl.

Pour the breadcrumbs into another bowl and set aside. You want the lineup to be tomatoes, flour, eggs, breadcrumbs.

Pour enough oil into a frying pan to cover at least ½ an inch. Turn the heat on to medium.

When the oil is hot, dip a tomato into flour, then into the egg and be sure to thoroughly coat it and then press it into the breadcrumbs. You may need to press the crumbs onto the tomato.

Gently place it in the frying pan and cook it about 1 minute per side (as the oil gets hotter, you may cut cooking time down to 45 seconds a side).

When done, drain on paper towels and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Note: if you don’t like dill, you can use 1 -2 teaspoons of basil paste instead.