Smothered Green Tomatoes

You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted my family’s smothered green tomatoes—all crispy atop Southern tomato gravy with a blanket of Cabot pepper-jack.

This is the way my family enjoys them, as we crave the crispiness of fried green tomatoes.

Forget the standard side of rémoulade for dipping them—this bed of tomato gravy is it.

Southern Tomato Gravy (not to be confused with Southern red gravy, red-eye gravy or Creole tomato sauce) starts with a roux—mine from bacon drippings and sifted flour, Vidalia onions, fresh chives, fresh snipped parsley, dried thyme and a spice blend.

Chicken broth, fresh plum tomatoes, canned tomatoes, a splash of cream, crumbled bacon and a pinch of cayenne flesh it out.

IMO, this is the best tomato sauce in the world.