Fried Green Tomatoes with Pimento Cheese, Pepper Jelly and Diced Ham

  • 12 Green Tomatoes already battered and prepared for frying

  • 1 12 oz pkg Diced Ham

  • preferred frying oil (we used sunflower)

  • Pepper Jelly

Spiffed Up Pimento Cheese:

  • about 2/3 cup favorite store-bought pimento cheese (or your own)

  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar, opt.

  • 1 heaping tablespoon sweet pickle relish

  • 2 teaspoons sweet pickle juice

  • minced chives or green onions

To cook ham: Put ½-inch of oil into a 10-12” skillet over medium heat and cook ham just a minute or two until bits are tender. Remove half the pieces with a slotted spoon and let the other half continue sizzling until nice and crispy. Remove crispy bits and combine with the other tender bits of ham.

To cook tomatoes: Fry prepared green tomatoes in batches (in the ham oil over medium heat) until crunchy and lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on rack.

Spiffed Up Pimento Cheese: Combine all ingredients and mix well.

(You can use pimento cheese as is, but we feel the need to dress it up a bit.)

To serve: Plate fried tomato slices and top with a dollop of pimento cheese and smidgen of pepper jelly. Scatter generously with ham bits. Garnish with snips of fresh chives. We happened to have some blooming oregano and used some of that too.

Servings: 6 (to each)

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