My French neighbor Janine and I were musing that we had lots of green tomatoes on the vine, and couldn’t wait for them to ripen. But I have a recipe! I said. So she and Marc came over for dinner. We made fried green tomatoes together, definitely a new adventure in eating for her and for husband Marc. They were great sports and politely proclaimed to like them. Is this dish an acquired taste, or does everyone love them like southerners do? Y’all will have to let me know. But isn’t it true that if you drag something through egg and flour and then fry it up in a skillet, anything will taste pretty great, even cardboard? Photo: the garden at the château.
Anyway, Janine and Marc reciprocated in a big way, they had us over and served a Baba au Rhum and Janine taught me to make it.
I’m happy to know how to make a baba—it’s an elegant French speciality. It's a yeasty cake baked in a mold and heavily soaked in a rum syrup. The original recipe is said to have originated with a Polish king, exiled in France, who dipped some stale cake in spirits to make it taste better. Janine’s version is sort of more rum than cake, which makes it a real crowd pleaser. Of course it doesn’t hurt that you put obscene amounts of chantilly on top
Her recipe is not your normal baba, by the way, it’s a version facile, fast and easy. The French baba is normally a cross between cake and bread, made with dry yeast. We’ll try that another day, but Janine’s simple baking powder version is hands down the fastest cake I’ve ever made. Put stuff in bowl. Stir. If you like, add a little scoop of rum raisin ice cream on the side in addition to the whipped cream, pourquoi pas?
Now about those fried green tomatoes: even if they don’t sound good to you, you might want to give them a try. The tomatoes are lemony with a bite, and you get to smother them with sour cream and salsa and cheddar cheese. Not a bad summer lunch on a shady terrace
So for our post this week I’m offering up both recipes. Now I’m not sure I’d serve them at the same meal. One’s back porch and a beer, the other is Dîner chez nous.
RECIPE: Charleston Fried Green Tomatoes
Yes this is a lousy photo, but we were in a hurry to eat them, OK? These are usually served as a starter or side dish, but I like to make them the main attraction.
For these I used roma tomatoes from my garden, but big round ones are the best. Pick them when they’re green and firm but thinking seriously about turning red.
Slice them a scant ½” (12mm) thick. Get out three shallow bowls for dipping. You’re going to dip them in flour first; then in a beaten egg, with a tablespoon of water added; then I dip them in a mixture of half flour, half cornmeal, though you could also use panko or fine dry bread crumbs for the final dip. ( I’d still throw in a some corn meal, though, for flavor). Season all three dips with salt and pepper, and a bit of cayenne pepper in the corn meal, if you like.
Dip the slices into each mixture and put them on a plate. Do ahead and chill them a while if you like. A dipping tip: use one hand to do the dry dips, and the other hand for the egg. Then you won’t turn into a gooey mess. Or you’ll be less of one.
Cover the bottom of your pan with about ¼” (6mm) of vegetable oil and get it very hot. This works best in a black skillet, but it’s going to splatter. So I often make them in a pot with high sides, to keep my clean up crew (that would be Ron) happy.
Cook about a minute per side, until nice and brown. Drain on paper towels, and serve immediately. For a main dish I like to serve them on a bed of peppery roquette (arugula), and top them with sour cream, salsa, and cheddar cheese.
RECIPE: Janine’s Baba au Rhum, Fast and French
Make this early in the day. 6 modest portions.
- 1 cup flour (125 gr)
- 2/3 cup sugar (125 gr)
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (10 gr)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (50 ml)
- Rum syrup
- Whipped cream
Heat oven to 350 (175C). Butter and flour a mold, small bundt pan, or an 8” cake or springform pan (though a little smaller would be better. I used an 8" flat bottomed springform bundt pan with a big hole in the middle). Mix dry ingredients. Beat eggs with oil, stir into flour mixture until smooth. Pour into pan. Bake 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool.
Chill in mold for 4 hours or more; the cake needs to dry out a little so it will absorb the rum. Then run a sharp knife around edges and unmold. Spoon some of the syrup over, wait a while, spoon more over. You may need to do it three times, to absorb it all. Serve with lots of whipped cream.
SYRUP: Mix 1 cup water (250 ml), ¾ cup sugar (150 gr), bring to boil, stir and cool. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ⅔ cup rum (170 ml), plus 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.
In the Comments last week, on favorite cooking tools: I had to go shopping after reading about all the tools our readers use! Don't miss the fun ideas---and merci for all the comments.
Our reader's blogs: Try this one! http://andthenmakesoup.wordpress.com/
Ron's corner: The cake is good, let's try it next with Gran Marnier, cognac.....
