Lactose-free diet - quick and easy recipes - page 13

Padrón peppers, known as pimientos de Padrón, originate from Galicia, Spain. These small and slightly sweet peppers are generally mild, but one in every handful will be surprisingly spicy. They’re usually deep-fried, but grilling is a healthy and quick preparation that adds a smoky layer of flavor. Serve these tapas style as a prelude to grilled paella and sangría for the ultimate Spanish feast. What to buy: Padrón peppers are harvested in the summer months.

The simple act of griddling a PB&J sandwich with lots of butter changes the whole thing, making the outside crispy and the inside warm and extra gooey. What to buy: We took the purist route here with peanut butter and strawberry jam, but feel free to swap in your own combination of nut butter and jelly.

Kamut contains about 30 percent more protein than other wheat-based grains, and with its naturally crunchy texture we figured it would be the perfect base for a healthy granola that won’t get soggy in milk. Walnuts add even more crunch to this granola. What to buy: Rolled kamut flakes, not to be confused with kamut berries, can be found at health food stores, gourmet grocery stores, or online.

We made this granola a little more interesting by substituting rolled barley and wheat for the oats. It’s sweetened with maple syrup, and also includes crunchy toasted pecans and dried cranberries. Try it on your morning yogurt or use it as an ice cream topper. What to buy: Rolled barley flakes, not to be confused with whole or pearl barley, can be found at health food stores, gourmet grocery stores, or online. Rolled wheat flakes, not to be confused with wheat berries, can also be found at h...

This chopped salad is a departure from your average leafy green salad, made instead with chunky, crunchy chopped vegetables. Sweet snap peas, cucumber, and carrots are cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with cilantro, scallions, and a spicy Thai-inspired dressing for a healthy and flavorful side dish. Add some grilled shrimp or leftover roasted chicken and serve over rice noodles for a healthy weeknight meal or easy packed lunch. What to buy: Look for chile-garlic paste in the Asian sectio...

Spending a few minutes preparing a handful of ingredients for a marinade gives this dish tons of flavor, plus the bonus of a built-in sauce after the chicken is cooked. Just combine soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a little brown sugar in a baking dish, add the chicken, and let it marinate in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready to cook it, put the whole dish in the oven, and in 40 minutes you’ll have crispy, saucy, flavorful chicken.

Dicing raw zucchini and yellow squash for a salad is a fast way to use up these plentiful summer vegetables. Toss them with some red bell pepper, grapes, pine nuts, chopped mint, and a Moroccan-inspired dressing to round out this healthy dish. Paired with a grilled rib-eye or a hearty piece of fish, this salad adds plenty of flavor to a summer meal with minimal time in the kitchen. What to buy: Look for preserved lemons in gourmet grocery stores or online; or you can make your own.

Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you, because this chili is very easy to make. Once you sauté the vegetables, it’s just a matter of dumping in all the spices, then adding the turkey, broth, and beans. The chili needs to cook for about half an hour, then the secret ingredient—chocolate—is added to give the dish a little depth. If you want more spice, add extra jalapeños.

Like banana bread, zucchini bread is an easy quick bread to put together, without the need for any fancy appliances. Just mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl, the wet in another, combine the two, and pour the batter into a bread pan. After about an hour in the oven, and a little time to cool, you’ll have a tender, sweet, flavorful bread to enjoy for breakfast, teatime, or a snack. Special equipment: You’ll need a metal 9-by-5-inch loaf pan for this recipe.

Dicing the avocados, cucumber, and pineapple gives this guacamole a chunkier salsalike texture rather than the standard smashed or smooth style. The cucumber and pineapple lighten the mixture and add fresh, sweet, and acidic flavors. Try it on fish tacos or for chip-dipping and margarita-sipping. What to buy: Look for avocados that give slightly when pressed but are not completely soft. We used Hass avocados.

This unique guacamole recipe adapted from Rick Bayless veers from the common avocado, lime, and cilantro combination, and instead is sweet and nutty with the flavors of dried apricots and almonds. Try it with a chicken quesadilla or simply on a tortilla chip. What to buy: Look for avocados that give slightly when pressed but are not completely soft. We used Hass avocados.

Chef April Bloomfield of New York’s The Spotted Pig created this soup version of bubble and squeak, an English dish of shallow-fried vegetables, to use up leftover root vegetables. To make it, sauté a mix of onion, parsnip, potato, Jerusalem artichoke, carrot, fennel, celery root, and turnip, then simmer with broth until tender.

Simplicity reigns in this salad of butter lettuce and pumpkin seeds. The roasted garlic and apple juice in the vinaigrette add a welcome twist. What to buy: If you want to intensify the pumpkin flavor, make the vinaigrette with pumpkin seed oil. Game plan: We roast garlic a few times a week and keep it around to add a subtle layer of flavor to dishes. Put a whole head of garlic in a 400°F oven and roast until the cloves are soft when pressed.

Though braising sounds like a time-consuming effort, this recipe from Ana Sortun, chef and owner of the Mediterranean restaurant Oleana in Cambridge, Massachusetts, can be pulled off in less than 30 minutes. The mix of Mediterranean ingredients like anchovy, raisins, capers, olives, pine nuts, and lemon lends tons of bright flavor and unexpected complexity without extra fat or calories.

This shortcut version of the classic Spanish romesco sauce—a combination of tomatoes, red peppers, bread, and almonds—is an easy, quick dip to prepare for cocktail parties. Its flavors pair well with anything from vegetable crudités to grilled chicken breasts and pasta, but one of our favorite ways to serve it is with roasted shrimp. Try pairing it with easy homemade chimichurri sauce for a garlic twist on this classic dipping sauce.

Whole wheat flour gives this pizza dough a hearty flavor and a chewy yet crisp texture. This recipe makes enough dough for two large pizzas, so you can top one for the adults and let the kids have a go at the second one, or freeze it for later. Just add pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and all your favorite toppings. Chowhound uses this in our easy margarita pizza recipe.