Description
A Southern twist on the classic BLT, featuring crispy fried green tomatoes, peppery arugula, and salty bacon, all balanced with a creamy basil mayonnaise.
Ingredients
Scale
Sweet Basil Mayonnaise:
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Sandwich:
- 16 (1/8-inch thick) slices bacon
- 8 slices country sandwich bread
- 1 cup loosely packed arugula
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Fried Green Tomatoes from Simply Recipes
- 3 medium, firm green tomatoes
- Salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (optional)
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup peanut oil or other vegetable oil
Instructions
For the mayo
- In a food processor, puree the basil, mayonnaise, lemon juice and mustard. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
For the sandwich
- Place the bacon slices in a large nonstick saute pan set over medium heat and saute on both sides until crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate until ready to assemble the sandwich.
Fried Green Tomateoes
- Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt. Let tomato slices stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place in separate shallow bowls: the flour and Cajun seasoning (if using), buttermilk and egg, and bread crumbs and cornmeal.
- Heat the peanut oil in a skillet on medium heat. Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour-seasoning mix, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain.
To assemble the sandwich
- Slather each slice of bread with a generous amount of the basil mayo. Top 4 of the bread slices with 4 pieces of crispy bacon, 2 fried green tomatoes and top with arugula. Finish by topping the sandwich off with the other slice of bread.
Notes
For an authentic Southern taste, use fine white cornmeal. Buttermilk adds flavor but is optional. Leftover fried green tomatoes can be refried and served with mesclun greens and basil mayonnaise. Store the basil mayonnaise in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 650
- Sugar: 6
- Sodium: 850
- Fat: 40
- Carbohydrates: 50
- Fiber: 5
- Protein: 20
- Cholesterol: 60