This was... a lot of fun to make, but VERY time consuming and, overall, a huge pain in the ass. I highly recommend it, try it out once, just for fun, and then never do it again. Thanks to Epicurious.com for this delicious recipe... that I made adjustments to.

Fried Green Tomato BLTs (*starred items I added into my recipe)

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
18 1/8-inch-thick slices pancetta*
(*I HALVED this part of the recipe and it was more than enough.)

18 1/4-inch-thick slices green tomatoes (about 6 tomatoes)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup olive oil

6 1/4-inch-thick slices red tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes)
6 1/4-inch-thick slices yellow tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced arugula
*1 thinly sliced avocado, soaked in lemon juice (to prevent browning)
*8 slices lightly toasted 5-grain Italian bread

Preparation

Puree basil, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, lemon juice, and mustard in processor until smooth. Transfer to small bowl; mix in remaining 1 cup mayonnaise and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange pancetta in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Cook until pancetta is just crisp, about 15 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.

Sprinkle all green tomato slices with salt and pepper. Place 1/2 cup flour in shallow bowl. Mix remaining 1/2 cup flour with cornmeal in another shallow bowl to blend. Working with 1 green tomato slice at a time, coat with flour, then egg, then flour-cornmeal mixture. Transfer to baking sheet. Line second baking sheet with paper towels. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry green tomatoes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer to prepared baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Keep warm in oven.

Sprinkle red and yellow tomatoes with salt and pepper. Place 1 fried green tomato slice on top of a slice of lightly toasted bread on each of 6 plates. Spread each with 1 teaspoon basil mayonnaise, then top with 2 tablespoons arugula, 1 slice pancetta, 1 slice red tomato, another fried green tomato, 1 slice yellow tomato, pancetta, and another 2 tablespoons arugula. Spoon 1 teaspoon mayonnaise over arugula, then top with remaining fried green tomatoes. Spoon 1 teaspoon mayonnaise atop green tomato. Add a thin layer of avocado. Finish with remaining pancetta and serve.

Market Tip: Look for green tomatoes at your local farmers' market or a specialty foods store, or order them from Melissa's (800-588-0151; www.melissas.com).

*Pancetta, Italian bacon cured in salt, is available at Italian markets and some specialty food stores and supermarkets.

Fried tomatoes are such a pain to make, but if you have the patience, do it. NOTE: This recipe is HUGE, there were five of us eating and we only ate just over half of what I made, so keep that in mind. You may want to halve the entire recipe, not just the mayo-sauce-stuff. I recommend a light, sunny beer, i.e. Allagash White Ale to go with this sandwich. Cheers!

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