One of my favorite dishes in Birmingham is the Hot and Hot Tomato Salad at Hot and Hot Fish Club. I believe I have mentioned it before
here. It is an amazing stack style salad that capture's summer produce at its finest. The real deal contains field peas cooked in ham hock, deep fried okra, bacon, and an egg yolk based dressing. While very delicious, those ingredients up the calorie and fat content. Don't get me wrong, I love this salad and think the real deal is amazing, but for a low key weeknight after a weekend of good eatin' at the beach, I though I'd lighten things up a bit. A couple of simple substitutions have given me the feel of the Hot and Hot Tomato Salad with a dish that you can feel good about. You can find the recipe the restaurant uses in their amazing cookbook. Get one-you'll love it!
Calorie Saving Adjustments I made based on the original recipe:
1) Omit the ham hock when cooking peas.
2) Use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. There is a big difference in calories...sodium, not so much. I find that I like turkey bacon just as well, actually. I use Applegate turkey bacon-all natural, hormone and nitrate and nitrite free. You can pick it up at Whole Foods.
3) Oven "fried" okra instead of deep fried okra. Simply toss your okra in some beaten egg and coat with Panko bread crumbs. Bake 400 for 20 minutes until brown and crisp. Toss with a little kosher salt when you get it out of the oven.
4) Omit the egg yolk from the chive dressing. I use plain greek yogurt, olive oil, and lemon juice to make this garlicky and flavorful dressing. It adds the perfect pop when drizzled on top of the final product.
5) Don't saute your corn. Fresh summer corn cut off the cob is delicious in and of itself. There is no need to saute in added oil.
6) I used half of the oil the balsamic dressing calls for. If you are using good balsamic vinegar you will not miss the extra oil. I find that I need more oil when I am not thrilled with the quality of a balsamic vinegar. The one I use is Whole Foods brand (365) and is great.
Lightened Up Hot and Hot Tomato Salad (Serves 2):
2 large tomatoes, sliced (heirlooms if you can get them)
1 cup field peas
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 ear fresh corn, shucked and kernels cut off the cob
2 slices turkey bacon, skillet fried until crispy
1/2 lb. okra, stems removed and cut in half
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Creamy Chive Dressing
Basil chiffonade
Balsamic Dressing:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onion
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and shake until emulsified.
Creamy Chive Dressing:
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T. nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 T. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. chives, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and shake until emulsified.
Toss okra in egg and coat in breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes until crispy. Remove from oven and toss with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Cover field peas and thyme sprig with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain, discard thyme, rinse with cold water and set aside.
Combine cooked peas and fresh corn with 1-2 T. balsamic dressing and set aside to marinate. Drizzle sliced tomatoes with 1-2 T balsamic dressing and set aside to marinate.
Cook bacon until crispy and set aside.
To assemble salads start with tomato and layer with field pea/corn mixture until tomatoes and pea/corn mixture is gone. Top with bacon and arrange oven fried okra around the stack. Drizzle with creamy thyme dressing and top with basil chiffonade. Serve.
Enjoy! Yum yum :)
.JPG)
