Lactose-free diet - quick and easy recipes - page 14

A combination of sugar, water, and strawberries cooked together, cooled, and strained. Use this sweet, fruity syrup in cocktails, desserts, or bubbly sodas.

With cabbage, carrots, radishes, and herbs, this slaw is as colorful as it is flavorful. It’s a great make-ahead dish, since the flavor develops as it sits; just be sure to give it a quick stir before you serve.

This salad is a great way to use up leftover or slightly stale bread. The original is typically made with red wine vinegar and the saltless bread found throughout Tuscany. Our version has a light lemon vinaigrette and cucumbers for an added dimension and some crunch. What to buy: Pull out your best extra-virgin olive oil for this recipe, as the quality becomes apparent after the first bite.

Rémoulade is essentially a homemade mayonnaise loaded with flavor. The sauce was originally created in France, but we put a Creole spin on it with the addition of Louisiana-style hot sauce, Worcestershire, and bell pepper. Though it’s normally served with fried-fish dishes such as our Cornmeal Fried Catfish, we also like it with boiled shrimp or mixed into a potato salad. What to buy: Have all the ingredients at room temperature before you start—the rémoulade will come together better.

This is a milder and more accessible version of my first hot sauce recipe, Habanero Blood Orange Death Kick. When my dad (who grows his own Trinidad Scorpion peppers) said it was way too hot, I took his advice and left out the serranos to curb the heat a bit. I also used easy-to-find domestic oranges and limes. Spoon it over a breakfast frittata for a punch of heat.

This hot sauce gets its heat from hot paprika and cayenne pepper rather than chile peppers. To make it, throw boiled carrots, roasted red peppers, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, smoked and hot paprika, and cayenne into a blender. Serve this tangy, smoky sauce over grilled steak or stir it into hummus for an easy dip. Game plan: The hot sauce is ready to be served after 1 day, but the flavors will continue to meld for 2 to 3 days.

Add sweet cherry heat to your favorite recipes with this easy hot sauce. Just blend boiled carrots, roasted red peppers, and habanero chiles with cherry juice, vinegar, ginger, and a touch of sugar and salt. This sweet and spicy sauce is an awesome complement to pork dishes like cochinita pibil or Cuban-style rotisserie pork loin. Game plan: Habaneros are particularly spicy chile peppers, so we suggest wearing a pair of latex gloves when removing the seeds.

Two summer veggies combine for a light, healthy summer salad. Mix up a simple vinaigrette made with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and shallots. Pour it over crisp blanched green beans and sweet halved cherry tomatoes, stir in some parsley, and serve with Grilled Rib Steaks, Grilled Salmon, a Leg of Lamb, or a Whole Grilled Bass. Game plan: This salad can be made up to 2 hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Toss briefly to recombine the flavors just prior to serving.

This classic cocktail sauce is a tangy, slightly spicy mixture of ketchup, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, and Tabasco sauce. Serve it with poached shrimp for a traditional shrimp cocktail or on briny oysters on the half shell. Game plan: This recipe can be made up to 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated.

With a flavor somewhere between cocktail sauce and Thousand Island dressing, this tangy, versatile recipe starts with ketchup and mayonnaise as the base and is flavored with brandy, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice. Use it as a dip for chilled seafood or french fries, or smear it on a toasted bun and proclaim it your secret house sauce for a bacon cheeseburger.

A tangy, slightly sweet marinade of lemon, soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger adds sparkle to salmon, and asparagus balances the richness. Pack up these kebabs for a summer cookout, or grill them on the back deck for a casual but stepped-up dinner party. Wild salmon in season is leaner than the farmed variety, and friendlier to the oceans.

Korean kalbi was the inspiration, but these skewers have their own personality. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, and a kick of Sriracha give boneless beef short ribs tons of flavor. Unlike chunky kebabs, the meat gets threaded on the skewers satay-style. Serve with sautéed Asian-style broccoli and a mountain of steamed rice, or beside some sundubu jigae.

Aioli goes great on a burger, a sandwich, or even dolloped on a baked potato, so why not slather it over corn on the cob? This dairy-free recipe is full of flavor thanks to the addition of roasted garlic and Dijon mustard. Lime adds a nice kick of acidity to balance out the rich mayo-based aioli, and smoky paprika gives the creamy topping a bit of bite. Vegan? Replace the egg, vegetable oil and olive oil with Vegenaise and mix it with the garlic purée and Dijon mustard.

This umeboshi paste combines the saltiness from salt-pickled Japanese plums with the sweetness from mirin (a low-alcohol wine made from rice) to create the perfect topping for summertime’s sweet corn. If the umeboshi are too tart and salty for your liking, just add more mirin to balance out the brined plums. Umeboshi can be found in cans and jars in Asian supermarkets and gourmet grocery stores.

Sweet pickle relish on a hot dog? Not for me: I want heat! Essentially a salsa, this relish works on a whole range of casual foods besides franks—nachos, burgers, tacos, you name it. Since this recipe makes a lot, you’ll be able to extend your condiment adventure into next season, slightly perspiring all through the cold months.

Fresh, bright, and easy, this mango salsa recipe gets both crunch and a little kick from diced red onion and tomato. It’s great sprinkled on a salad, spooned over grilled fish or chicken, or as a topping for tacos, nachos, or salmon burgers.