Fried green tomatoes with cream, bacon and cilantro

The headnote says, “Most fried green tomatoes are coated heavily with cornmeal, flour, or bread crumbs, and sometimes all three, and fried until very crisp on the outside. This version is both lighter and richer. Serve it with roasted pork shoulder, roasted chicken, or almost any kind of barbecue, including ribs.”

3 slices of bacon, fried in an oven-proof pan until crisp, drained, saving

4 tablespoons of the fat 4 medium green (unripe) tomatoes 1 5-ounce log of chèvre, such as chabis 1⁄2 cup fine-ground cornmeal Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 1⁄2 cup heavy cream 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Chop or crumble the bacon and set it aside.

Cut and discard the stems and blossom ends of the tomatoes and cut each tomato into 3/8inchthick slices. Let the sliced tomatoes rest on absorbent paper or a tea towel. Slice the goat cheese into thin rounds and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Mix together the cornmeal, salt, and pepper and dredge each slice of tomato in the mixture. In the reserved bacon fat, fry the tomatoes over medium heat until the cornmeal browns, about 1 ⁄ min2 utes on each side. After turning the tomato slices once, top each with a round of goat cheese and place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes.

Transfer the tomatoes to a warm plate, set the pan over medium heat, and add the cream. Swirl to pick up any pan drippings, and, when the cream is hot, pour it over the tomatoes.

Scatter the bacon and the cilantro over the tomatoes and serve hot. Serves 4 6. Recipes courtesy of The Good Cook’s Book of Tomatoes: A New World Discovery and Its Old World Impact with more than 150 Recipes,” by Michele Anna Jordan