Tonight’s recipe

Fried green tomatoes with tarragon aioli

Serves 4 Ingredients

For the aioli 2 egg yolks

100ml sunflower or rapeseed oil

125ml extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, finely grated ½ lemon, juiced

1 small bunch soft herbs, roughly chopped (I opted for a mixture of fresh tarragon and oregano)

For the tomatoes

8 large unripe tomatoes, cut into thick slices (red is fine too as long as they’re not too ripe) 100g flour

2 eggs, beaten

150g polenta

Olive oil, for frying

1 tbsp butter

½ tsp smoked paprika

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

First, make the aioli. Using a balloon whisk, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Trickle the oil in very slowly, alternating which oil you add and beating constantly. Make sure that each drop has been emulsified before you add the next. When thick and glossy, add the garlic, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Then add the lemon juice and beat again. Finally, fold in the herbs and set aside.

Next, make the tomatoes. Dredge the sliced toms in flour, then egg, then polenta. Press them into the polenta to make sure they’re well coated.

Set a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a good glug of oil and the butter. When hot, fry the tomatoes in batches, cooking for around two minutes on either side, or until golden and crispy. Be brave and leave them to brown, they can get away with taking on some colour.

Remove to a plate lined with kitchen roll. Sprinkle with salt and paprika.

Serve hot, encouraging people to pick them up and dollop aioli onto each bite.