I recently competed in Frisch’s Big Boy’s Lenten Recipe Competition. Each competitor was tasked with creating a delicious meatless recipe using Frisch’s tartar sauce. The sauce is already featured in many recipes on their website, so coming up with a unique item was a bit of a challenge. Eventually I settled on making fried green tomatoes from scratch and featuring these on a grilled cheese with plenty of Frisch’s tartar sauce.

Finished Product

This was my first time making fried green tomatoes, but the process is actually very simple. And we all know how easy making a grilled cheese sandwich is, so overall this shouldn’t take too much to prepare. And the results were really good!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 large green tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick (4 slices)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 4 slices pepperjack cheese
• 4 tablespoons Frisch’s tartar sauce

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Place the flour, eggs, and cornmeal in 3 separate bowls.
3. Press both sides of the tomato slices first in the flour, then in the eggs (letting any excess drip off), and finally in the cornmeal.
4. Cook the tomato slices until golden, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
5. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
6. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and place it over medium heat.
7. Spread butter onto 1 side of each slice of bread.
8. Place 2 of the slices butter side down in the skillet.
9. Stack 1 slice of pepperjack cheese, 1 tablespoon of Frisch’s tartar sauce, 2 slices of green tomato, another tablespoon of Frisch’s tartar sauce, and finally another slice of pepperjack cheese onto each piece of bread in the skillet.
10. Top with the remaining slices of bread with the butter on the outside.
11. Cook until the bottom is golden.
12. Flip the sandwiches and cook until golden brown on the other side.