Cooking without onion family?

[lagatta]

A friend is on a (legitimate) diet for IBD; I have no problem with the lactose or gluten warnings, but how on earth can I cook something (other than plain steaks or chicken legs) without onion, garlic, leeks or shallots?

Any ideas how I can make dishes with such a restriction palatable?

[Deleted]

If you do a google search of "onion-free dishes", you get thousands of hits.

[bixaorellana]

LaGatta, I remember reading that there is a sect(?)* in India that eschews onion and instead uses asafoetida to impart a similar flavor.

*Just looked it up -- it's the Jains. Also found this info about asafoetida in the same place:
While on its own, the smell may strike you as overpowering and somewhat unpleasant, in cooking it mellows out and produces a flavor similar to onion and garlic.

Further googling rendered this: kurma.net/faq/ask51.html

[lagatta]

Thanks! As for me onion, garlic, leek, shallot, chive etc free dishes are simply tasteless dshes,

Obviously I don't want to poison a friend.