Fried green tomatoes with hot and sweet aioli

First, make your dipping aioli so it’s ready when your tomatoes are hot:

• 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sriracha or other spicy sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Put the yolk in a bowl. Whisk constantly and slowly dribble in olive oil a few drops at a time (you can start pouring a little faster once it emulsifies). Once the base is made, add brown sugar (make sure it’s nice and soft so it mixes easily) and sriracha, mixing completely. Add enough lemon juice to cut through the fatty flavor and balance it out with salt and pepper. Store in the fridge while you make the tomatoes.

Tomatoes (easily serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish)

• 8-10 firm green tomatoes (they shouldn’t have any color)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup corn flour or cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
• (note: you can swap these spices out if you prefer something else)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Vegetable oil

Set up a serving platter with paper towels to store the tomatoes while you’re cooking.

Slice the tomatoes into about 1/3 inch slices. Put about a quarter of an inch of oil into a skillet and set on medium high to get it heated up. In one shallow bowl beat together egg and milk. In another, mix flours, spices, and salt and pepper.

Once the oil is hot, dip a tomato slice first into the egg wash, coating it completely, then into the flour mixture, again coating it completely, and drop into oil. Repeat for as many slices as can comfortably fit. Flip slices when the coating becomes a dark golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from oil after about a minute on the second side and set on paper towels to dry, immediately replacing any free space with new slices and removing them from the pan as soon as they’re done.

Serve tomatoes while hot with the aioli from the fridge.