When we lived in Santa Barbara, I found a little restaurant with a lovely garden in back which served a version of these. Theirs had avocado as well as a Sriracha mayonnaise but I have pared this back to make it easier to organize for lunch at home.
If the bacon were removed, one could turn this into a delightful vegetarian sandwich, in which case I might add the avocado and maybe also a slice of tomato and some alfalfa sprouts.
No matter what version you make, the very best bread is a must -- lightly toasted.
This recipe is for one sandwich. Multiply as needed.
2 slices good bread, sourdough tastes really good with this
3 slices thick cut bacon
4 thin slices of green tomato, around an 1/8 of an inch or so
1 Tbsp cornmeal
1 crisp lettuce leaf, torn
Mayonnaise and salt to taste
Cut the bacon slices in half and cook them until crispy in a large skillet. Remove from the bacon grease and set on a paper towel lined plate until needed. Discard all of the bacon fat except for 2 teaspoons. Set the skillet aside.
Dredge the tomato slices on both sides in the cornmeal. You need a very light dredging -- the juice in the green tomato slices should provide just enough liquid so that cornmeal adheres to the tomato slices.
Heat the 2 teaspoons of bacon fat in the skillet. As soon as the fat is piping hot, add the tomato slices and cook for a minute on each side over low-medium heat. Salt each side. Place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Lightly toast the bread. I don't own a toaster and toast my bread in the oven and, for this sandwich, I toast the bread on one side only. This gives me crunch on the outside of the sandwich and softness to absorb all tomato juices and mayonnaise on the inside.
To assemble the sandwich slather mayonnaise on both pieces of bread. Add some of the lettuce, some of the bacon, 2 slices of tomato to the top of one piece of bread and repeat before covering with the remaining piece of bread.
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