Five tasty and healthy summer grilling recipes

It’s summertime, and the eating is … healthy? Not necessarily: An endless parade of beer, burgers and hot dogs is hardly a recipe for feeling like your best self.

But that’s no reason to forgo one of summer’s great treats — grilling.

Below we have five simple ideas for grilling — they’re quick and easy, healthy and flavorful, regardless of whether the flavors you like are traditional American, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern…

Whether you’re cooking a weeknight dinner in under 30 minutes on your outdoor grill, or just want a summer meal you can enjoy at your leisure, these healthy dinners are just the thing. These all work with a variety of seasonings, so get prepared for your tastiest — and possibly healthiest — summer yet. Fire up the grill…

Grilled chicken breast

Boneless chicken thighs are probably the best cut of chicken for grilling: good fat, hard to overcook. Chicken breast is, of course, better for you. But how to avoid it getting dry on the grill without marinating it in huge amounts of oil?

The answer is to brine the chicken. When the breasts spend a little time in the solution, they absorb enough liquid to avoid drying out when grilled. Note that they are likely to require less salt than usual when cooking, perhaps even none.

Procedure:

• Make a simple brine of 1/4 cup kosher salt dissolved in 4 cups water at room temperature.
• Submerge chicken breasts in the brine for half an hour.
• Remove chicken, pat dry, grill with the rub of your choice.

Grilled zucchini

All kinds of vegetables respond well to grilling, but zucchini is one of the easiest grilled veggies to make. It’s moist enough that it won’t dry out if your grill technique is imprecise. And it tastes good at all temperatures, so you can cook it at the start of the grilling process and eat it at room temperature, or cook it toward the end while the meat rests.

Procedure:

• Cut zucchini lengthwise into pieces about 1/2 thick
• Cook them for 3 or 4 minutes per side – try not to move them as they cook, and just turn them once: That way you’ll get pretty grill marks.
• Once cooked, adds a little salt, toss them in some olive oil or vinaigrette, scatter on some herbs, throw some cheese on them… whatever you like, really.

Fish directly on the grill

Fish is healthy, but fear is not, and a lot of people are scared of grilling the ocean’s bounty. It’s true that it requires more care than grilling meat, because the window of tasty doneness for fish is smaller than it is for a steak or a burger). But it’s not that hard if you prep right.

Use skin-on fillets. The skin adds flavor, protects at least one side of the fish, and should make it easier to remove from the grill when you’re ready to serve it. Note that thicker (1/2 inch or so) filets are easier to work with, as they have a better chance of acquiring a nice char on the outside without getting dry in the middle.

Procedure:

• Make sure the grill is hot, otherwise the fish won’t develop a crust and will be hard to flip.
• Cut some shallow, diagonal slashes into the fish’s skin (this is to prevent the skin from curling the fish as the skin contracts during cooking).
• Rub olive oil on both sides of the fish so it’s less inclined to stick to the grill, and season both sides with salt.
• Place the fish skin side up on the grill and cook it until you see a char (you can gently lift up one end and peek under it to check this).
• Once it has a char, carefully flip it and finish cooking it skin side down, until the skin has crisped up.
• Remove from the grill. If the non-skin side came away smoothly from the grill and looks pretty, serve the fish that way up. If it came apart and looks terrible, serve the fish skin side up — either with the skin still on, or with it carefully removed. (Either way, it’ll look nice.)

Fish in leaves or foil

Another, easier way to cook fish on the grill is to wrap it in either leaves (such as banana leaves, which can be found in Asian groceries, or grape leaves, available from Greek purveyors and online). Or use tin foil.

Tin foil, since it’s so well sealed, will give you less smoky flavor than leaves, though it’s worth noting that putting things in foil is a good way to accommodate non-meat eaters when you have a small grill.

Procedure:

• Whether you wrap your fish in foil or leaves, the procedure is the same: Rub the fish with a little oil, season it with salt, pepper, herbs, or the rub of your choice.
• Throw the wrapped-up fish on the grill.
• Check for doneness by carefully (because: hot steam) opening one packet and, using a fork, digging a little bit of fish from the middle of the filet.
• Note: Make sure that this checked-for-doneness piece of fish is eaten by a host, since it won’t look as nice as the other pieces

Grilled lettuce

Hear us out: You already know lettuce is healthy, but unless you’ve eaten it grilled, you’re probably unaware of quite how delicious it can be once it’s picked up a char, some smoke and a slight sweetness from the coals.

Grilled lettuce is versatile: You can use the leaves in a salad or as a burger topping, or, better yet, throw some toppings on the lettuce and eat it as a side. Toppings can be as simple as oil, vinegar and parmesan; a more complex vinaigrette; nuts; ham; or combinations of the above. Stronger flavors, like fish-sauce-based vinaigrettes, also work well.

Procedure:

• Take a romaine lettuce heart and slice it in half lengthwise.
• Brush the cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle on a little salt.
• Grill over moderate heat until charred and softened.