Tip: Can You Substitute Strawberries for Tomatoes When Cooking?
The strawberries are the sweetest now, all summer long. And while everyone knows how delicious they are in desserts, we’ve heard that they can be used as a substitute for tomato. I decided to try this and see how well it works.
I cannot believe this concept. That will go to Dave Woolley, a food consultant based in Denver (who is known to actually work with the California Strawberries). He said try using strawberries instead of tomatoes in a goat cheese vegetable sandwich, in a Caprese salad, or in a seafood salsa.
While there are many savory recipes that require strawberries, I loved the idea that strawberries could replace tomatoes, so I decided to try a few more options. Strawberries, like tomatoes, are highly acidic and can be quite sweet, and unlike tomatoes that are not yet in season, strawberries are now reaching their ideal ripeness.
Another note: strawberries are usually more expensive than tomatoes. However, this can vary depending on the variety, seasonality and supply; strawberries are in season and tomatoes are not, you might find the opposite. And let’s be honest: sometimes you just try to use what’s on hand.
Appendix A: Classic Caprese Salad
The classic Caprese salad is pretty simple: just slices of fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato and olive oil. I repeated this, simply replacing the vine-ripened tomato slices with chopped strawberries. The result was pleasant, if not too subtle. To enhance the flavor, I added some balsamic vinegar and finished with coarse sea salt (I needed a reason to play around with my Hiwa Kai black lava sea salt). The addition of the sweetness, acidity, and prune-like flavor of the balsamic glaze helped the salad to really come out.
Exhibit B: In a grilled cheese sandwich
Chef Woolley’s suggestion for a sandwich intrigued me a lot. I didn’t want to go with the goat cheese option as strawberry and chevre are a fairly common flavor mix, so I opted for something a little more risky: telem, an American semi-soft cheese with a brie-like texture and mellowness, and a mild, nutty flavor. I fried sourdough bread in oil and placed the telema slices on top, dedicating the middle to the thick, juicy stemberry slices.
I had never made telemy grilled cheese before and the result was ridiculously rich, but the acidity of the strawberries helped to get rid of the fat. The sandwich tasted a bit like savory strawberries and ice cream sundaes. I loved it, so much so that I propose to increase the spice even more: this sandwich would be doubly fantastic if thin slices of prosciutto were added to it.
Appendix C: In Fresh Salsa
Strawberry salsa is also not unheard of – there are tons of strawberry-mango and strawberry-avocado salsa on the internet – but I wanted to see what happens if I replace chopped tomatoes with strawberries in classic tomato salsa. So I took a basic fresh salsa recipe that used standard Mexican salsa ingredients like garlic, onion, cilantro and cumin and used strawberries instead. This worked well visually and texturally (and bonus: I didn’t have to plant tomatoes!). The salsa ended up taking on more of a floral flavor, so if you try this I also suggest working with the sugar and acidity levels based on the ripeness of your strawberries. My salsa looked better with a little lime and an extra pinch of sugar.
Verdict: Fresh Strawberries Can Really Replace Tomatoes
Given that all three of my tomato swaps have been solid success, I would argue that strawberries can indeed replace tomatoes. Keep in mind that this replacement is for fresh versions of both types of food. I won’t be trying stewed strawberries instead of tomatoes in pizza sauce anytime soon.
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