Cajun BLT with Fried Green Tomatoes

The BLT is perfect. I'll say that right up front. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, good bread. Simple. Honest. But here in Louisiana, we can't leave well enough alone. We see something good and we think: what if we made it ours?

Fried green tomatoes change everything. Instead of that soft, watery slice of summer tomato (which has its place, don't get me wrong), you get a crispy, tangy, slightly sour bite that stands up to thick-cut bacon. The cornmeal crust adds texture and a whisper of sweetness. The remoulade brings heat and depth where plain mayo once lived. This is still a BLT. It's just wearing its Sunday best.

I've served this sandwich at Lagniappe for fifteen years. It started as a staff meal, something we'd throw together when the green tomatoes came in from our garden out back. Customers caught wind of it, started asking for it, and now it's on the menu every summer. My grandmother Evangeline would have approved. She believed the best cooking happens when you take something familiar and make it yours.