With a stunning opening dessert spread and a plot revolving around a café, there is no shortage of pairing inspiration for “Fried Green Tomatoes.” I decided to make something involving the film’s title but with a twist to make it part of the Summer of Scoops.

This vegan, gluten-free recipe for fried tomato basil sorbet makes about 16 balls.

Sorbet Ingredients
2 cups tomato juice
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon basil

Crust Ingredients
6 cups corn flakes, crushed
4 tablespoons vegan butter or margarine
4 tablespoons basil-infused olive oil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon parsley

Optional Toppings
a sauce or dip such as pesto, chimichurri or zhoug
vegan parmesan cheese
balsamic vinegar or glaze

Instructions
Pour the tomato juice, xanthan gum and basil into a blender. The xanthan gum is optional, but it helps thicken and soften the sorbet. (Get more of my ice cream 101 tips here.)

Pulse until all of the ingredients are evenly mixed.

What happens next depends on your ice cream maker. If you have a more standard one, you’ll pull your chilled (for 24 hours) bowl out and pour in the mixture to make the sorbet.

If you have one like mine, you pour the mixture into two pints then freeze them for 24 hours.

After that time, you put the pint into your ice cream maker and let it do its magic on the sorbet setting.

Leave the sorbet on the counter to soften a little and put a parchment-lined baking sheet in your freezer.

While the sorbet softens and the baking sheet chills, make the crust.

Crush the corn flakes and set them aside.

Put the butter, basil-infused olive oil, parsley and oregano in a pan over medium heat. If you don’t have basil-infused oil, you can use regular olive oil and add a tablespoon of basil.

Once the butter is melted, stir in the crushed corn flakes, coating each one in the herby, buttery oil.

Transfer the herbed flakes into a wide bowl so they cool before dredging the sorbet.

Form the sorbet into balls with a spoon, ice cream scoop or your fingers then roll them through the corn flake mixture and press the coating around each ball.

Place each ball on your parchment-lined baking sheet.

Serve each ball on its own or with a drizzle of your favorite dip or glaze over the top with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan as a snack. You can also eat a ball as a side for a meal. Enjoy with “Fried Green Tomatoes!”

Freeze any leftover balls in an airtight container. I recommend letting them thaw for at least 10-15 minutes before you eat them. And you should eat them all in a few days before the crust gets stale and/or the balls start to develop freezer burn.

The Easy Route
Using premade tomato juice as the recipe suggests eliminates some preparation steps and it’s a recipe that doesn’t actually require frying, so this is probably already the easiest possible way to make these from scratch.

If you know of a restaurant or other company that makes fried tomato sorbet balls, please share those details in the comments.

The Pairing
A staple of 1990s chick flicks, “Fried Green Tomatoes” is a movie I had to revisit to prepare for this pairing.

The main story of Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson) and Ruth (Mary-Louise Parker) comes through flashbacks. Nursing home resident Ninny (Jessica Tandy) regales Evelyn (Kathy Bates), a disgruntled housewife sitting in the lobby while her husband (Gailard Sartain) attends to his aunt (another nursing home resident who is unseen), with their story over multiple visits.

Idgie and Ruth are trauma bonded when they witness Idgie’s brother (Chris O’Donnell) die in a tragic accident.

The bulk of the story takes place a few years later when Idgie and Ruth get reacquainted at the request of Idgie’s mom (Lois Smith), who wants her to come home, be more ladylike and get married. She believes Ruth will be a positive influence on Idgie, as Ruth is due to get married at the end of the summer.

Due to the storytelling plot device, the story of Idgie and Ruth is interspersed with the sad story of Evelyn’s life. I love Bates, but I would prefer if this movie just told the older story instead of going back to Evelyn.

Masterson and Parker are absolutely fantastic as Idgie and Ruth, making “Fried Green Tomatoes” an essential ’90s chick flick.

If you decide to make fried tomato basil sorbet balls and/or watch “Fried Green Tomatoes,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, threads, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes