![]() ![]() Diced it small and add a small amount (about 1 tsp per tomato replaced by zucchini) of lemon juice to the recipe. In a cold salad (grain, pasta or vegetable), you can also substitute raw zucchini or summer squash for raw tomato. You can also ad it last-minute to stir fries, but if you cook it too long, it will become sweeter. This is perfect for sandwiches, salsas, and cold salads. You want a mango that has only the tiniest bit of give when you squeeze it with your fingers-it shouldn't feel soft by any means, but it shouldn't be as hard as rock. Sliced, the fruit's texture is also similar to a thick slice of tomato. I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out: an underripe mango has not ripened enough to be sweet, and it has a tartness and near-sweetness reminiscent of a tomato. To achieve similar flavor, you can use an under-ripe mango. Replacing Raw and/or lightly-cooked Tomatoesįor the most part, raw tomatoes are often present in recipes to help add a bit of tartness, crispness, and color. Below I will list how to substitute for (most) tomato products. If you want to substitute effectively, those are essentials. Any time a recipe calls for tomato paste, I use at least half tamarind paste to make up for it, because it resembles tomato paste in terms of taste in a recipe. ![]() It has a little sweetness to it, but is mostly sour. The sugar in it crystalizes around the edge a little, but it was fine to eat.) It resembles molasses in appearance, but is much much tarter. (I have used tamarind that has sat in a fridge for about a year. Tamarind concentrate may also seem a little expensive, but a little goes a long way, and though you should keep it in the fridge once you open it, this too will last forever. I like the Laxmi brand, but you can find this in any Indian/Southeast Asian or Latin American grocery stores, or in a well-stocked grocery store's "ethnic food" section. If you really, really can't find it, you can use a little umeboshi vinegar (which is easier to find, but not as good a tomato replacement) in its place. Reduce the salt in the recipe by a little. Stir a little (meaning maybe half a teaspoon) into any recipe that would otherwise have tomatoes (cooked recipes are better, but I've stirred some into mango salsas), and taste to see if you want more. Umeboshi paste provides a bit of the texture cooked or reduced tomato products provide, as well as all of the zing and near-sweetness tomatoes have. ![]() It is incredibly salty, and though it looks expensive, one little tub of this will take you months to finish off (and it keeps for years in the refrigerator). Umeboshi paste is made from a tart Japanese plum that is pickled in brine and then ground to paste. I only know the Eden brand kind, and I get it from a health food store you may be able to find some at an Asian grocery store, or you can just order it online. But all is not lost! When you encounter a recipe with tomato in the ingredients list, ask yourself: what is the role of the tomato in this dish? Is it acting as the dish's acid? sweetener? thickener? is it, in the case of a salad, there for texture and color more than for flavor?īefore I start discussing replacing tomatoes, I want to introduce you to your two new best friends: Tomatoes are not just ingredients in these recipes, they are the base of these recipes. Think about it: tomato sauce, tomato salsa, minestrone soup. Tomatoes are probably the hardest nightshade to replace for two reasons: 1.) tomato products come in so many shapes and forms that they are useful in all kinds of recipes, and 2.) they are often a substantial part of the dish they inhabit. Cooked, they provide thickness, acidity, sweetness, and hearty flavors for sauces, soups, curries, spreads, pasta, and countless other dishes. Raw, they provide a nice firm texture and a fresh, tart flavor. Tomatoes perform a variety of roles in cooking. In my little series on how to replace nightshades, I have left the hardest for last. ![]()
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