Savour summer nights as long as possible by cooking as much as you can on the outdoor grill. Think beyond meaty mains for patio fare and you can let the oven go on vacation while the barbecue makes up for lost time.
Oysters
Place shells cup-side down on the barbecue, medium heat, close the lid and cook until the shells pop loose, about 3 to 5 minutes. Open oysters, reserving the liquid, and add a dab of herb butter, hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon.
Lemons
When life gives you lemons – slice them in half and grill them. A few minutes on the barbecue will warm up the juice and make the lemons a beautiful charred accent for grilled fish or chicken. Also makes for a smoky lemonade – dip in sugar to caramelize.
Romaine
Slice a head of romaine lettuce lengthwise, oil lightly and grill for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly charred on each side. Serve whole, drizzled with Caesar or your favourite dressing and shaved Parmesan Reggiano.
Halloumi
If you’ve ever grilled halloumi you’ll know that the trade-off for the uber-simple preparation (slice cheese, oil grill, flip when browned) is so much savoury, crispy, chewy awesomeness that you might make this the main course.
Watermelon
Grill watermelon (medium heat) and it becomes a juicy addition to savoury dishes – you can cube it on a skewer (with some halloumi) or serve with feta and mint as a salad, or rub slices with a honey/lime/cayenne mix, grill and serve as an appetizer.