Vegetarian :: Bitesize

Another Vegetarian fare is here again - as supplied by the tasty Vegetarian Ventures host Shelly!

This dish can be an awesome appetizer or just a bunch of bitesize snacks to munch on when hungar pangs strike!

The original recipe that Shelly gave me to try was for Fried Green Tomatos.  Sadly in the UK, green tomatos are about as rare as they come - they're harder tomatos and the over-ripe ones we get in the UK are just too mushy for this recipe to work, so I needed to find a vegetable that would provide the same kind of thing, but firmer.  TA DA - Courgettes/Zuchinnis win again!

Worked perfectly.

Ingredients

Fried Green Tomatoes (swapped the tommies to Courgettes/Zuchinnis because the UK hasn’t appreciated green tomatos yet and can only get squidgy over-ripe ones!)

1 Medium courgette/zuchinni cut into thin slices approx 1cm thick

Salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

1 egg

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil

1 Cut unpeeled courgette/zuchinni into slices. Sprinkle slices with salt. Let slices stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place in separate shallow bowls: the flour and Cajun seasoning (if using), buttermilk/or milk and egg, and bread crumbs and cornmeal.

2 Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk/or milk together.

/ Dip slices in the flour-seasoning mix,

// then buttermilk-egg mixture,

 /// then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet,

 …….(it’s like a production line!)

When the oil is hot enough...

....fry half of the coated tomato (or zuchinni) slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain.

Serve with hummus, cream cheese and chive, or a tomato salsa – dip and enjoy!

Thank you Shelly, you're too awesome! :D

Check out all the delicious vegetarian recipes and more on Vegetarian Ventures - Shelly inspires me everyday with her creative modern take on vegetarian food on her blog - check her out!