Sunday, October 19, 2008

Green tomato casserole

Rooie suggested I might make a green tomato casserole with my abundant harvest. That struck me as easier than trying to fry up so many slices singly. And maybe it would be reheatable or good cold.

Following Rooie's directions, I layered tomatoes with seasoned bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of salt and bits of butter. I did maybe five layers.

Baked it at 350 covered for 15 minutes and uncovered for another 20. I turned the broiler on for a minute at the end to make the top a little crispier.

Rooie didn't give temps and times, so I just guessed.

Well, this photo just doesn't capture it very well.
But, um, I ate three-quarters of the entire casserole in a very short span. I can attest that it is good at room temperature as well as hot.

I will make it again in a larger, shallow casserole so I can have more of the crispy top.

You should make it, too.

7 comments:

  1. I WILL make it! Sounds great. It looks like your tomatoes are at least partially ripened. Do you think the recipe would work with really green (and hard) tomatoes?

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  2. Yay! I'm so glad you liked it. And sorry about not giving you the time and temp...I would have looked it up for you if you'd asked, but I don't have that part of it memorized. My mom used to make it in a shallow oval casserole dish. Yum.

    And Pam, it just as good with all-green, rock hard tomatoes.

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  3. There you go, Pam!

    Thanks, Rooie. I wasn't worried about winging it; the concept was what I needed. I'd be curious to know what the "official" time and temp should be, but I figured the main thing is to heat the tomatoes enough to cook them through and brown the topping. Thanks again for the idea!

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  4. This is a great alternative to fried green tomatoes, which are crazily addictive. I did find a recipe (I think an Alton Brown) where you bake the tomatoes instead of fry them, though. Mmm ... now I'm craving casserole.

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  5. Thanks, Kathi and Mimi! Julie, I tried broiling them instead of frying and that worked OK, but fried was tastier. But also much more time-consuming. And I've got a lot of tomatoes to use up.

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