Southern fried tomatoes and creamy tomato gravy is summer comfort food at its finest! It is a recipe sure to make any tomato lover’s mouth water. Here in my home state, Jersey fresh tomatoes have a special place of honor and adoration. Many anxiously wait for these ruby beauties to turn up at the local farm markets, and this recipe, from my grandmother Shirley’s kitchen, certainly does them justice.
In the summer it seems you go from having no tomatoes to having more than you know what to do with. That was certainly the case for me this week when my husband brought home half a crate of overly ripe tomatoes. There was only one thing I could do, make tomato gravy. This easy recipe is great for using up those overly ripe tomatoes. Plus the rich and creamy gravy is the object of summer cravings. I can picture my grandfather now, nosing around the kitchen, impatiently waiting dinner because he caught whiff of my grandmother’s tomato gravy. Just ladle it over some delicious fried tomato slices and you’ll be in heaven! Honestly it is so good that you’ll be tempted just to eat it up with a spoon or better yet pour it over biscuits or crusty bread! The possibilities are endless!
Fried Tomatoes with Tomato Gravy
Equipment
- Large deep skillet or frying pan
- large mixing bowl
Ingredients
Fried Tomatoes
- 4 large firm tomatoes just barely ripe
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
Tomato Gravy
- 6 cups quartered tomatoes overly ripe/juicy
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ stick butter
- 3 cup milk
Instructions
Fried Tomatoes
- Wash and dry 4 large tomatoes and cut into thick slices. Salt and pepper the slices on both sides. It is very important that you pick very firm tomatoes that are just, or not quite ripe so that they don't fall apart when you fry them.
- Turn your skillet on high to heat up and put in your stick of butter to melt.
- Add about 1 cup of flour to a shallow dish or plate. Coat your tomato slices on all sides with the flour and transfer them right to the hot skillet. (You should only flour 4 or 5 at a time since you don't want to crowd your skillet.)
- Cook each slice for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate or casserole pan while you flour and fry your next batch of slices. Continue until all of the slices are fried. You do not need to clean out your pan you'll be making the gravy right in it.
Tomato Gravy
- Add your quartered or chunked tomatoes to a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and pepper and toss to mix the seasoning through.
- Add the flour to the tomatoes and toss to combine well.
- In the same frying pan that you fried your tomatoes in add another ½ stick of butter and turn on medium high heat.
- Once the butter has melted add the tomato flour mixture to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the milk and simmer on low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Ladle over fried tomato slices to serve or with crusty bread or biscuits.
I make this recipe many times over the summer. Every single time I make it, I think of Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom. I think this was by far one of Pop-Pop’s favorite summer meals. Pop-Pop would make himself a nice bowl of tomatoes and gravy and with his fresh loaf of Columbus rye-bread sop up the gravy.
What a great summer recipe.
He loved this recipe! When I make it I can just see him at their kitchen table with a hunk of bread eating it over a book.
I’ve watched my grandma make this a thousand times over I don’t know what best the fried tomatoes and gravy or the apple dumplings for dessert