Kathy Manweiler: Tomato & bread salad with halibut a great summertime dish

GRILLS can take a break from hamburgers and hot dogs this Memorial Day weekend with today's recipe.

The American Heart Association recommends that most people eat at least two servings of fish each week, but many of us - including me - don't always follow that advice. Tomato and bread salad is one of my favorites, and I thought it might work well to toss some fish into that dish.

First, I wanted to find a healthier marinade for fish. The original recipe I liked for halibut included a lot of olive oil, but adding some white wine vinegar to a fraction of the oil kept the flavor while trimming the calories by 27 percent and slashing the fat 48 percent.

If you don't want to use halibut, another mild white fish such as cod or tilapia would work.

My tomato and grilled bread salad is inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe. I lightened up the dressing by cutting the olive oil in half and drizzling in extra red wine vinegar. Instead of brushing the bread with olive oil, I lightly coated it with cooking spray. This reduced the calories 24 percent and the fat 45 percent.

I prefer ciabatta, but any coarse-textured, good-quality bread works best for this salad.

KATHY'S TOMATO

AND GRILLED BREAD SALAD WITH HALIBUT

For halibut:

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound fresh halibut

For salad:

1/2 pound ciabatta bread, cut into

3/4-inch thick slices

4 cups diced tomatoes (or whole cherry tomatoes)

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil, torn into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

Cooking spray

Salt and pepper to taste

To make halibut: In a bowl, whisk lemon zest, juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, oregano and salt until mixed. Transfer marinade to a shallow baking dish and add halibut, thoroughly coating the fish with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat a grill or a grill pan to medium. Remove halibut from marinade and place on grill. Cook the fish 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until halibut is opaque throughout. Let the fish cool slightly, then cut into bite-size pieces.

To make salad: With the grill still heated to medium, lightly coat the bread slices on each side with cooking spray. Grill 3 to 4 minutes on both sides, or until bread is lightly charred. Let the bread cool slightly, then cut it into large cubes. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the tomatoes, cucumber and basil. Gently fold in the pieces of fish. Drizzle with the red wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and serve.

Per serving: 444 calories, 20.4 fat grams, 42 carb grams, 36 mg cholesterol, 615 mg sodium, 4.3 fiber grams, 30 protein grams.

Note: Halibut adapted from a Good Housekeeping recipe.

Do you have a favorite food or popular recipe that you'd like to see made healthier? Send your recipes, along with a daytime phone number, to Kathy

Manweiler at dontsaydiet@gmail.com, or mail to: Don't Say Diet, P.O. Box 780865, Wichita, KS 67278.