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Thanksgiving Sides: Fried Green Tomatoes, Savory Pumpkin

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Sweet Potatoes, Thanksgiving And Beyond



Roasted, scalloped, fried, or mashed-sweet potatoes belong as a staple vegetable in everyone's kitchen.

At least food writer and political science lecturer Christine Barbour seems to think so. She was introduced to sweet potatoes as a young child at Thanksgiving, but she has since developed a complex relationship with this tuber. She loves to mash them with orange juice and butter, or add curry powder and lime to give them a sharper flavor. Or, she will fry them and drizzle shag bark hickory syrup on top.

But it was her mother's Caramelized Sweet Potato recipe that won her over as a child. She describes the dish as boiled and peeled sweet potatoes bathed in a caramel of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. "And we would always put a little bit of salt in it to get that salted-caramel flavor, which now is a trendy thing but was so odd at the time."

More: Check out Christine Barbour's Caramelized Sweet Potato recipe. Try making it for your Thanksgiving feast this year!

Fried Green Tomatoes



At the end of the season, pick all your tomatoes even if they're still green. Wrap them in newspaper and store them in a box in a cool dark place or in the bottom of your refrigerator. They'll keep for a long time.

Ingredients:

  • 4 green tomatoes (large)
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Greek garlic spice blend
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • salt and pepper
  • oil for frying


Directions:

  1. Core and slice tomatoes.
  2. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk.
  3. Mix cornmeal, Parmesan, garlic, and spices.
  4. Season flour with salt and pepper.
  5. Dredge tomato slices through a standard breading procedure (flour, egg, then breading).
  6. Fry until crispy.


More: Get more info about the fancy nutrient-rich cornmeal used in this recipe by reading Orange Corn Jam-Packed With Vitamin A, Fights Childhood Blindness.

Savory Sauteed Pumpkin Slices



Ingredients:

  • 1 (2-pound) pumpkin, good meaty French variety
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
  • 2 teaspoons raw sugar
  • sea salt
  • 5 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 2 lemons
  • toasted pumpkin seeds


Directions:

  1. Peel and seed pumpkin. Cut into 1/3-inch slices. Toss in olive oil.
  2. Toss spices, sugar and salt in another bowl and pour over pumpkin slices.
  3. Saute in a nonstick pan until caramelized. Turn and color other side lightly. Remove from pan and season with lemon juice.
  4. Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds.


More: Explore all of our Anything-But-Pie Pumpkins recipes, courtesy of Sarah Kaiser.

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