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.
So you’re just looking to replace the texture of both, not the flavors? It’s not super clear what your partner isn’t liking about them.
If it’s just the texture, just chop them finer. For garlic, get a garlic press. If chunks of onion are an issue, heat them in oil, then remove the chunks before adding other ingredients to dishes. That imparts the onion flavor into the oil.
Sorry it wasn’t clear. My partner gets digestive issues from them. She lhas no issues with the flavor and likes the dishes we cook. I would like to (ideally) replace both taste and texture. The tip about infused oil is an interesting one, and I’ll try that for sure.