I love cooking, and most dishes I cook contain some kind of onions or garlic in varying amounts. Unfortunately, my partner doesn’t handle them well, so I want to replace them as much as I can.
Leek is one decent alternative to onions, and I’ve recently discovered Asafoetida, a spice that creates an oniony flavor. But onions are also important for texture, especially in saucy dishes, and both leek and spices replace that poorly. Fennel works sometimes but alters the taste.
Garlic generally seems hard to replace, although I’ve had some success with only slightly squashing the cloves and fishing them out before serving.
Anyway, I’m looking for suggestions. Anybody know any good alternatives, any cool tips or tricks I could try?
Edit: To clarify, the issue is that my partner can’t digest them properly and they cause pain (likely a mild food allergy). The flavor is not an issue, and we both enjoy the stuff that we cook apart from this issue.
I think if I was going for no alliums at all, I’d look for replacements for each use of them vs a blanket substitute.
You mentioned fennel as a good substitute, but the anise flavor isn’t right in some applications. When caramelized, that anise flavor mellows out, so it works really well as a substitute for caramelized onion.
In a more lightly cooked application, like a stir fry, you might want to get a similar texture with cabbage. Sauer kraut (and its asian relatives like kimchi) is good for a “sharper” taste.
For pickled onions, you can replace with pretty much anything else pickled.