The Savory Fruit That Is The Secret For Easy Vegetarian Tartare

A plant-based tartare may seem like an oxymoron as traditional preparations feature raw meat — most prominently steak. You'll also find tuna tartare and even smoked salmon tartare on restaurant menus as red meat-free versions. However, in step with the age of innovation in plant-forward dining, there's an ingenious version that celebrates the tomato as a star ingredient, thereby leveling up the flavor and adding valuable nutrients like vitamins and antioxidants to the dish. It's imperative to use good quality tomatoes that are in season to ensure optimum flavor. But if you're preparing this luscious tartare when the temperatures drop and tomatoes are not in season, consider opting for smaller varieties to source the best tomatoes out of season.

If you think turning a tomato into an appetizer that usually centers on raw meat is a daunting ordeal, the preparation is actually surprisingly straightforward. It begins by roasting tomatoes to concentrate their natural sweetness, intensifying the fruit's deep and complex flavors. After the mixture is diced and combined with your chosen blend of herbs and seasonings (you can upgrade lackluster tomatoes with a pinch of MSG), you are in for a sophisticated dish imbued with the elements of a classic tartare without animal-derived ingredients. So, the next time you seek a culinary challenge, why not explore tomatoes in a new light? With a few simple techniques and high-quality ingredients, you can create a dish that's not just a meal, but a celebration of fresh, vibrant flavors and creativity.

Beyond being tucked into salads or blended into an all-purpose tomato sauce, tomatoes showcase remarkable versatility. The fruit's diverse preparations are challenging traditional culinary boundaries, especially when utilized to recreate the mouthfeel of mainstream animal-based dishes. One of the most innovative uses comes with the tomato's ability to mimic egg yolks. Turn your kitchen into a fun food chemistry lab with a few extra ingredients like sodium alginate and calcium lactate to transform a tomato into a runny yolk. The culinary geniuses at Montreal's first all-vegan ramen and izakaya bar, Umami, have perfected a confit tomato technique that lends the visual aesthetic and similar texture of an egg yolk.

Make waves sans sea life with plant-based sushi, sashimi, and poke bowls using marinated tomatoes to replace tuna. Tomatoes also make a wonderful base for a cured, smoked salmon that can satisfy the craving for a lox bagel! It all comes down to a savory marinade using dry kelp or kelp powder which does the trick of infusing the flavors of the ocean into the tomato to deliver the familiar taste and texture of tuna or salmon. The possibilities for creations are endless. It seems that the culinary world is only scratching the surface of plant-based innovation, continuously exploring animal-free dishes that capture the essence of traditional fish preparations — all with one humble, tangy fruit.