Seasons change: oven fried tomatoes (and not necessarily green)

Ragazzi, there is no way to deny it, as the temperatures drop:  the seasons are changing.  Summer is taking wing.  She's still with us, but all of us are sitting, sometimes thinking, regretfully "I shouldn't have complained about the hot days so much."  Well, regret, carissimi, is a wasted emotion, in Annalena's view.  Embrace the way it is:  we will have a wonderful autumn.

The change of seasons, as we have been discussing,  results in what we pick up at our farmers market being the same, and yet different.  So the blackberries of last week were "good, but not as good as a month ago," and the raspberries were "not as sweet as they were."  So, too, with tomatoes.  It is hard for vegetables and fruits to pick up that "sun kissed" flavor when there isn't much sun.  Do we stop eating them?  Perish the thought!  Perhaps we eat them the same way we did, and embrace the newer, less intense flavor (which is not necessarily a bad thing), or we prepare them in a different way.  And that is where we jump off to our recipe, which is courtesy of one of Annalena's least favorite people, Martha Stewart.

The impetus here, ragazzi, is as follows.  Annalena does get one of Ms. Stewart's magazines:  the one that looks like a little book.  More for ideas on how to cook things, than for recipes per se.  In the one which came out at the height of tomato season, Annalena found a recipe for oven fried tomatoes.  Now, if some of us abjure baking, many of us abjure frying.  It is messy, wasteful, and, DUH, involves FAT.    Well, all is true.  It is not necessarily unhealthy, if you do it right, and if you eat one serving of fried food, as compared to four servings of the baked one, well.... does Annalena need to tell you this is false economy to eat the four servings of baked?  Hopefully not.

Anyway, Ms. Stewart's recipe did not call for the traditional green tomatoes, but they would work here.  In fact, ANY tomato would work here, and Annalena suggests you get a mix of colors and sizes.  By doing so, you wind up with a plate that is not unlike the mixed tempura plates one gets at Japanese restaurants (Annalena always steals the fried winter squash).  There is an ingredient here that may make your eyes pop open.  But use it.  Use it the first time.  It IS really good. 

Okay, darlings, let us begin.  We start with two pounds of tomatoes, as noted, in different shapes and colors.  Slice them into rounds, a bit on the thick side.  Put them aside. 

Preheat your oven to 425, and then line one or two baking sheets with  parchment paper (This is the most important step in the recipe.  DO NOT try to do this without parchment).    And now, get three flat bowls out and line them up.  In the one furthest to the left, put in about a cup and a half of flour.  In the middle one, break and beat three large eggs.  Finally, in the last one, add crushed.... cornflakes.


That is right, ragazzi, cornflakes.  Plain old "corny as... " cornflakes.  You will need about five cups of the uncrushed ones.  Then, if you want a smooth, even texture, crush them in the food processor.  Or, put them in a bag, pound them, and get the uneven type.  Not all five cups will fit in your bowl, and that is fine.

After you have your bowls laid out, add a pinch of salt to the eggs, and a larger one to each of the crumbs and flour.  Also  add a touch of cayenne pepper to the flour (not more than 1/4 teaspoon), or whatever red pepper source you have.   Add some more pepper to the crumbs, or another seasoning.  Place the baking sheets at the end of this little assembly line, and the tomatoes at the start, near the flour.

Ms. Steward would have you do the next with a fork.  Annalena prefers using her hands, which means stopping to wash them occasionally.  One by one, dip the tomato slices into the flour, shake off the excess, then coat it with egg, and then crumbs, and place each slice on the baking sheet.  If you fill one up, move to the second one.

You will probably not run out of dry ingredients, but you may have to add another egg.

When every slice has been covered, move the sheets into the oven and bake them, for 15-20 minutes, until they darken and crisp up.   This is where the parchment becomes important.  Tomatoes hold water, and lots of sugar, and if you do not protect the surface, they will stick to it, and you will never get out a decent slice.

After the 15-20 minutes, bring them out and let them cool.  If you make yourself some homemade tartar sauce (Annalena uses capers, spices, and mayonnaise), or a bowl of creme fraiche, or just some sliced lemons, you've got yourself something pretty darn delicious.  So you should probably make more than you think you need.

Use something else for the breading if you don't have, and/or don't like, cornflakes.   Use corn meal, or flavored bread crumbs, or panko,  or crackers, or whatever you like.

Now, wasn't that easy, and aren't you smiling over this really yummy goody?  Eat up.

Next we roll up our sleeves and get ready for an easys, but time consuming foray into the world of baked pasta.  Here's a hint ragazzi:   those afficianados of less common veggies (fennel and radicchio), are going to get their day.  And you are going to get a FABULOUS pasta main dish you could serve for Sunday dinner.

Ciao belli