Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and potatoes are in the nightshade family of plants, often thought of as “poisonous” in huge quantity. The reason, it seems, that there is this nightshade rumor at all is that the category encompasses a huge assortment of plants including tobacco, morning glory, and belladonna. Belladonna can be deadly or medicinal or the name of a famous porn star.
It is the alkaloid content in nightshades that has interested pharmaceutical companies.
But three green tomatoes won’t hurt you or cause hallucinations. In fact, they are simply delicious. I think they are particularly good sautéed with curry spices. Or try one of many versions of the classic fried green tomato below and enjoy! -Julia
Fried Green Tomatoes
3 green tomatoes, salt, 1 cup flour, 1 T Cajun seasoning, ½ cup milk or buttermilk, 1 egg,
1/3 cup cornmeal, ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs, ¼ cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil
1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt. Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place in separate shallow bowls: the flour and Cajun seasoning (if using), buttermilk and egg, and bread crumbs and cornmeal.
2 Heat the peanut oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain.
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