Fried Green Tomatoes With Shrimp Remoulade

Ken Smith, Upperline. Upperline's walls are covered with local art, and its menu filled with traditional Creole dishes. This recipe combines two Louisiana favorites with distinct flavors. The tomatoes should be served warm or hot, while the shrimp and remoulade sauce should be cold for contrast. You can substitute crawfish, scallops, or even lobster for the shrimp, or eliminate them and serve the remoulade sauce directly on the tomato slices for a vegetarian alternative.

Prep: 5 minutes; Cook: 6 minutes.

Yield: Makes 4 appetizer servings

Ingredients

• 1  large egg
• 1  cup  buttermilk
• 1  cup  yellow cornmeal
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt, or to taste
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground pepper, or to taste
• 8  (1/2-inch-thick) slices all-green tomatoes (about 2 medium tomatoes)
• 6  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 24  medium shrimp (about 1/2 pound) peeled, cooked, and chilled
• 1  cup  Remoulade Sauce, chilled
• Garnish: mixed greens

Preparation

1. Whisk together egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Combine cornmeal, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Dip tomato slices in egg mixture, then coat with seasoned cornmeal.

2. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Place tomato slices in pan in a single layer, and cook until golden brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip and brown other side, about 3 minutes more. Interior should be cooked through but not mushy.

3. Place 2 tomato slices on each of 4 serving plates and top each slice with 3 shrimp. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons Remoulade Sauce over each slice, and garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.