A longtime customer called to say, “It’s green tomato season and I can’t find your gratin of green tomato recipe. I love that dish and I really want to make it. Where is it?”

Green tomatoes are not the first tomatoes of the season, but the last. The tomato plants have pooped out and the sunny days are not quite hot enough to make them ripen quickly. The beautiful fruit sits on the vine green and stays green. Impatiently, I pick the fruit to make this recipe, which does not involve frying. Green tomatoes don’t have to be fried to be delicious!

Green Tomato Gratin

• 1/4 pound bacon, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh thyme leaves

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove, drain most of the fat, and then cook the onion in the bacon fat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar and let melt. Remove the skillet from the heat and return the bacon. In a separate bowl, combine the cheese and breadcrumbs. Spread half of the tomatoes in a 9×13 gratin dish. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Top with the bacon-onion mixture. Layer the rest of the tomatoes, season well, and top with the cheese-breadcrumb mixture. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender and browned.

Thank you, Judy, for reminding me of this favorite recipe that I demonstrated in a cooking class in 1996!