Fresh tomatoes are apparently in short supply due a severe temperature drop in Florida causing growers to lose 70% of their crop. While the shortage has hit most parts of the country, the Midwest is hit the most since Florida is a key provider. I wouldn't doubt some of Chicago's most popular pizzerias and Italian restaurants have been greatly affected by this. Of course those with tomato allergies deal with this issue all the time.
Here's a few alternatives to help you get through:
- Pesto is a flavorful sauce that can be used to top your favorite pasta
- Marsala is a common Italian sauce frequently paired with proteins like chicken
- Another simple way of dressing a pasta dish is with a little extra virgin olive oil, freshly chopped basil and sea salt
- For something completely different coconut milk is a base for a lot of sauces in Asian cuisine. Trade Joe's has a nice "lite" version in their canned food isle
- Red bell peppers can often work as a substitute for tomatoes in raw form or cooked in sauces
I stumbled upon this tasty No-Tomato Sauce recipe from cookingallergyfree.com, which is a site focused on healthy allergy free recipes. You can create a user account to make your own cookbook to accommodate your specific allergies.
No-Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
1/4 tsp basil or oregano
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 tsp savory
Pinch of salt
1-3 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp chopped parsley
4 oz. jar of red peppers, marinated, roasted, pureed
2-3 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup minced red onion
Instructions:
- Saute onions (minced adds a more tomato-ish texture) and garlic in the olive oil until onions are tender
- Add parsly, savory and basil (or any combination) salt and sugar (dark brown is best). Stir
- Add the pureed red peppers, lemon juice and red wine and simmer until the sauce thickens
- Serve with pasta of your choice and enjoy
- I really like capers, feta and roasted pumpkin seeds on top.
Recipes are reprinted with permission from cookingallergyfree.com.
Filed under: Eating out
Tags: Food allergy, tomato allergy
I don't actually have a tomato allergy, but this sauce still sounds delicious! Do you know what's in the No-mato?
Hey Ricki,
According to the site here are the Ingredients: Carrots, water, beets, onion, lemon juice, salt, garlic, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and herbs. Enjoy!
Sounds good--I think I could reproduce that in my own kitchen--whoo!
With your talents I wouldn't doubt you could make an awesome version of that.