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Maque Choux with Fried Green Tomatoes

Source of Recipe

From "Real Cajun" by Donald Link


Recipe Introduction

"For years my wife was a vegetarian. As a guy who has sausage in his DNA, it was only reluctantly that I started preparing more vegetable dishes. Maque choux, the classic southern Louisiana sauté of corn, peppers, and tomatoes, was one of Amanda's favorites. To make maque choux more of a meal (or, though it pains me to say it, a vegetarian entrée) I like topping it with crisp fried green tomatoes. Of course, you wouldn't hurt my feelings if you wanted to throw in some bacon or sausage."

List of Ingredients

Maque Choux:
â—¦ 2 tablespoons butter
â—¦ 1 small onion, minced
â—¦ 1 poblano chile, seeded and minced
â—¦ 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
â—¦ ½ teaspoon paprika
â—¦ 2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
â—¦ 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
â—¦ 4 bay leaves
â—¦ 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
â—¦ 1 ½ cups water
â—¦ Kernels from 6 ears of corn (3 to 4 cups)
â—¦ 7 basil leaves, torn

Fried green tomatoes:
â—¦ 1 or 2 hard green tomatoes
â—¦ Salt and pepper
â—¦ 2 cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 cup buttermilk
â—¦ 2 cups bread crumbs
â—¦ Vegetable oil, for frying


Recipe

Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to sizzle, add the onion, poblano, jalapeño, salt, pepper, and paprika. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables have softened. Add the tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and water, and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down. Add the corn kernels and simmer, until the corn is tender, 10 to 15 minutes; stir in basil.

While the corn simmers, slice the tomatoes into ¼- to ½-inch slices and season with salt and pepper. Place the flour, buttermilk, and bread crumbs in individual shallow bowls or pie tins. One at a time, dip the tomato slices first in the flour, then in the buttermilk, and then in the bread crumbs.

Heat ½ inch of vegetable oil to 350° F in a medium cast-iron skillet. Fry the tomatoes until golden on both sides.

Spoon some maque choux onto each plate. Top with fried tomato.

Serves 4