Secret sauce

June 22, 2016 7:27 AM

I'm cooking a bevy of fried green tomatoes for a group that includes a person who won't touch "white dairy products" (including mayo, which, yes, is non-dairy, but there you go). What kind of non-standard dipping sauce can I make that is not ranch-like and does not contain milk, buttermilk, mayo, sour cream, yogurt, or raw eggs? Need not be vegetarian or otherwise vegan. (N.b., none of the other tomatoes are ripe yet, so a fresh tomato thing is out.)
posted by mudpuppie to Food & Drink (40 answers total)

Response by poster: PS: Ersatz white goopy things that look like but don't contain any of the above ingredients are also out. Picky eater is picky.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:28 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Eggs in hollandaise are cooked. Use this method.
posted by supercres at 7:29 AM on June 22, 2016

I've made a sort of thin guacamole before with avocado, lime juice, a bit of water, salt, and some cumin (and cilantro if I've got it) that's a great dipping sauce for grilled veggies, and would probably go well with FGT depending on what kind of breading you're using.
posted by saladin at 7:30 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm an idiot. Butter. Sorry.

Probably a good vinaigrette.
posted by supercres at 7:31 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Pesto.
posted by wwax at 7:32 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you need something that can't even be be said to contain any of the same texture/taste sensations to make sure it 'passes', try a soy sauce-based dressing with red chili flakes, salt, sugar. This is an option, although you might need to remove the scallions lest they overwhelm the tomatoes.

Alternatively, chimichurri?
posted by flibbertigibbet at 7:34 AM on June 22, 2016 [3 favorites]

How about jazzing up some ketchup? I like ketchup on fried things, personally. Here's an interesting one.
posted by cabingirl at 7:34 AM on June 22, 2016 [3 favorites]

Salsa?
posted by *s at 7:35 AM on June 22, 2016

Best answer: Lemon-tahini sauce?
posted by sarajane at 7:35 AM on June 22, 2016 [8 favorites]

Best answer: Romesco sauce gets its heft from almonds and olive oil, though it might not have the flavor profile you're looking for. I've seen a light apricot sauce (mostly a hot and thinned apricot jam) as a side for fried pickles in place of ranch or another creamy dressing, and I think other fruit jams might work too, especially simmered with some other herbs or spices. Seconding pesto, since the cheese is easy to leave out.
posted by jetlagaddict at 7:35 AM on June 22, 2016 [6 favorites]

Balsamic reduction!
posted by something something at 7:36 AM on June 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

Romesco
Chimichurri
Ajvar

On preview, jetlagaddict beat me to the romesco.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 7:36 AM on June 22, 2016

Here's a curry ketchup, also.
posted by cabingirl at 7:37 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Alternates might be sweet and sour, barbecue, teriyaki, tempura, malt vinegar, shrimp cocktail dip, or just plain ketchup.
Or how about a dipping vinegar or an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette?
Wasabi? Wasabi and vinegar?

Here: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a little bit of crushed garlic mixed in. That sounds good to me.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:37 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Mole sauce
Homemade ketchup
Chili-garlic paste
Green curry sauce (coconut milk base)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:38 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seconding something avocado based.

I've also been served a roasted red bell pepper based sauce with fried vegetables. Here's one example of a recipe.
posted by gudrun at 7:38 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Guacamole
Thai peanut sauce/sate
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 7:39 AM on June 22, 2016

A 'proper' Aioli can be made with just garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. There are many recipes for it on the Internet. It's in a completely different league from what we tend to call Aioli (namely a sort of thick garlic mayo).
posted by pipeski at 7:43 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Tentsuyu (soy sauce with ginger and dashi) is traditional for tempura, which you could argue that fried green tomatoes sort of are. It's a very thin sauce though.
posted by jackbishop at 7:45 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

hummus
posted by sabh at 7:52 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

if they don't like the cream texture, they might not like avocado solutions.
posted by nadawi at 7:53 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fried green tomatoes and Thai sweet chili (or sweet cucumber) sauce are sooo good.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:54 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think it's time for lunch; I started thinking about your fried green tomatoes and imagined _all_ these sauces and they sounded wonderful:

• honey-mustard sauce - super easy to make, and delicious
• dijon mustard
• barbecue sauce (molasses/syrup, mustard, tomato paste, oil, garlic)
• fresh lemon wedges to squeeze
• vinaigrette
• malt vinegar
• horseradish sauce (might be too dairy-like)
• chutney
• salsa (uses tomatoes)
• pickle relish
• saurkraut
• spicy peach relish
• cranberry sauce (far more versatile than people realize)
• any salad dressing: French, Thousand Island, Japanese ginger dressing, etc.
• just let them be naked and serve next to sweet and sour coleslaw (recipe in "The Best Recipe" cookbook)

posted by amtho at 7:57 AM on June 22, 2016 [5 favorites]

You might go in a totally different direction and make a tempura style dipping sauce or a light soy ginger sauce?
posted by pazazygeek at 7:57 AM on June 22, 2016

I enjoy buffalo sauce on things like fried tomatoes, though some do contain milk products. It might not go over well with a picky eater, but tamarind sauce like what's served with pakora would be tasty on them.

With the expectation of a picky eater, I'd go with a nice ketchup and mustard as the safest bets.
posted by Candleman at 7:59 AM on June 22, 2016

Pesto is still yummy without the cheese (and does Parmesan get a pass for not being at all creamy?) as long as you add some extra salt and bump up the nut content a little for texture. You can use different herbs and nuts too, like mint and hazelnut pesto or arugula and cashew pesto (which I had once on an heirloom tomato salad some of which were green and it was awesome!) Drop some dots of a contrasting vinegar in the dip bowl to brighten the taste and make it look super fancy.

I was born in Texas and I will fight people about barbecue with very little provocation but blasphemously I love Carolina style vinegar bbq sauce with fried green tomatoes, which I had once (in Boston of all ridiculous places) and just about died.
posted by Mizu at 8:00 AM on June 22, 2016

Candleman's mention of tamarind sauce for pakoras made me think of green chutney.

(Criminy, the pastrami thread on the blue is bad enough; now I want fried green tomatoes with ALL THE SAUCES.)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:05 AM on June 22, 2016 [5 favorites]

Best answer: How do they feel about spicy food? Fried tomatoes with green stuff would be amazing. It's a jalapeno/garlic/oil emulsion and it's ridiculously tasty.
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:11 AM on June 22, 2016 [5 favorites]

Try paleo "dump ranch" -- so good you might want to drink it! I put it on everything. It uses coconut milk, preferably the cream. Use an immersion blender for best results. I use parsley, cilantro, and dill together.
posted by jgirl at 8:14 AM on June 22, 2016

well, gotta have fat. I like the avocado idea. I'm not sure I would do a guac, though. something as simple as seasoned EVOO would do nicely. seasoned EVOO blended with a little avocado, salt, and pepper.
posted by j_curiouser at 8:25 AM on June 22, 2016

Seconding honey mustard. If you have a Japanese market nearby I'd peruse the condiment aisle(s.)
posted by Room 641-A at 8:34 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fried green tomatoes dipped in siracha mustard is amazing. You can make it or buy it at Aldi.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 8:34 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

It's fine to eat them without sauce, by the way. It's fried! It'll taste good!

In fact, I've never had fried green tomatoes _with_ sauce.
posted by amtho at 8:45 AM on June 22, 2016 [6 favorites]

Southerner from a town that prides itself on its green tomatoes chiming in. The thought of dipping fried green tomatoes in anything other than batter with salt and pepper makes me clutch my pearls. I would be alongside said picky eater enjoying them plain (maybe with copious extra pepper).

Otherwise, a simple hot sauce (Tabasco, Cholula, Tapatio, etc.) would do just fine, or a homemade chile sauce (especially if you can get your hands on a can of green Hatch chiles).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:50 AM on June 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks folks. I think I'm going the apricot-chile route, because it will satisfy everyone, I think. Lemon-tahini was actually my first thought, but there's no tahini within a 30-mile drive of my current location. (Pray for me.)
posted by mudpuppie at 9:00 AM on June 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Also -- hot bacon dressing.
posted by vitabellosi at 9:28 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Guasacaca!

It's an avocado-based salsa - more bright and herbal than creamy, does not brown. V delicious.
posted by Fig at 9:52 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yumm sauce is amazing on anything. Dairy free, not-white, delicious.
posted by Empidonax at 10:06 AM on June 22, 2016

the selected 'best' is a version of salsa de aceite
posted by j_curiouser at 10:37 AM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Consider cured and grated or whole egg yolk
posted by parmanparman at 1:55 PM on June 22, 2016