Garlic Herb Crostini with Fried Green Tomatoes

GARLIC HERB BUTTER CREAM CAPRESE CROSTINIS WITH FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Fried green tomatoes are definitely a thing in the South. It’s not just Louisiana that has a love affair for these sassy greens, but mostly all of the South. I didn’t like tomatoes at all until a few years ago. The texture was entirely too slimy to me, and I just couldn’t bring myself to eat them.

Now that I pretty much eat everything, I love tomatoes. I especially love fried green tomatoes. What better way to celebrate these now in season produce than by making caprese crostinis?

With this garlic herb butter cream I list out below, it’s so good, you’ll want to spread it on everything! But save some room for that balsamic glaze, it’s decadent and rich and you’ll want that too!

Cheers to an imperfect Memorial Day Weekend out on the balcony!

How perfect are those green tomatoes in the back? Heinen’s Grocery had some real beauts I had to partake!

These little Tom Tom brand baby tomatoes are perfect for bursts of flavor in these crostinis!

GARLIC HERB BUTTER CREAM CAPRESE CROSTINIS WITH FRIED GREEN TOMATOES RECIPE

Balsamic Glaze Ingredients

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Garlic Herb Butter Cream Spread Ingredients

1 stalk of celery, halved for food processor

2 green onion stalks, trimmed for food processor

1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic

12 oz whipped cream cheese

1 stick of softened unsalted butter

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1 or 2 basil leaves, 1 if it’s really large

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Crostini Bread Ingredients

4-10 slices of fresh Italian Bread (mine came as a loaf, pre-sliced)

spreadable butter and olive oil drizzle for each slice for oven

After Baking, and to Assemble

slices of mozarella cheese from mozarella log or ball

large basil leaves for each bread slice

garlic herb butter cream spread from earlier in ingredients list

heirloom tomato sliced thin for each bread slice

baby Tom Tom tomatoes for adding on in herb butter

Fried Green Tomato Ingredients

1/2 - 1 cup of AP flour for coating with 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 -2 eggs beaten for dipping

1 -1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs for final coating before frying

canola oil to fill to 1” height of cast iron

Instructions

Place all garlic herb butter cream ingredients in food processor first. Blend until smooth and creamy, and make sure the celery and green onion are minced down and there are no large chunks remaining. Set aside for final assembly.

Set oven to 375°F. Coat your set amount of bread slices (depending on how many mouths you are feeding) with spreadable butter, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and then brush to coat the slice. Once oven is heated, place bread in oven to cook for 15-20 minutes until golden on edges.

While the bread is cooking, set your balsamic glaze ingredients in a sauce pan on medium - medium low heat and whisk through it’s cooking time, usually 25 minutes.

This works better with 2 people, so if you can grab a helper, it’s best that someone watches the glaze while you tend to the fried green tomatoes.

Fill a large cast iron skillet with about an inch of canola oil and set on medium high heat until ready to fry. I would turn it down to medium when it comes to frying time. Set out 3 bowls. In the first, put the AP flour, cayenne, black pepper and salt. The second, the 1-2 beaten eggs, depending on how many green tomatoes you are frying. The third, the panko bread crumbs for the final coating. Make sure you spray the green tomato slices with vegetable spray so that the flour can stick to something well before you dip in the 2 remaining bowls. When the oil is ripping a bit, you’ll know the skillet is ready. Slowly add the battered tomatoes 4 at a time to the hot oil, and fry on each side for about a minute. You can take them out when they get a pretty golden brown, but not too dark. When taking out the hot tomatoes, place paper towels in a tray or plate so that they can soak up the extra grease.

To assemble the crostinis, spread the garlic herb cream onto the bread slices first. Then use 1 large basil leaf, then 2 slices of mozarella overlapping a slice of an heirloom tomato, then topping it at last, with the beautifully golden fried green tomato. You can use the balsamic glaze, but I recommend only right before you eat it. Things can get messy!

The glaze tends to get super thick after it sits for a while, so if it’s ready before everything else, keep it on a very low heat and stir occasionally. You can add the baby tomato bites into the sides of the garlic butter cream for each crostini. Enjoy!