Do you remember when you were a kid and rainy summer weather called for grilled cheese sandwiches and fries made for a good rainy day lunch before a good rainy afternoon nap? In the fall, tomato soup is the side du jour, but summertime humidity call for something a touch lighter and no less satisfying. The good news is that grilled cheese doesn’t have to be terribly heavy.

If you want a rich and decadent grilled cheese sandwich, I definitely recommend the one I made back in February. However, if you’re interested in a lightened up (but no less delicious) version, keep reading! Grilled cheese maybe be a delightfully melty sandwich, but it can also be light and crisp.

I found this marvelous Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich in my Williams-Sonoma Cookbook and felt it was perfect for our current geographical weather. Instead of a generous slather of creamy mayo to form a golden crust, a light brush of olive oil is requested. On my part however, I opted for grapeseed oil. It’s really better for moderate to high-heat cooking as the antioxidants and other benefits are shown to degrade in prolonged heating of olive oil. Grapeseed oil is equally heart-healthy and the flavor is mild and delicious so we don’t mind the switch one bit.

One caveat of this recipe, is I felt it lacked a greater depth of flavor. Just because it’s light and summery, I’m still expecting layers of acidity and salinity. Sure, you’re to salt the mozz before grilling, but we were left still wanting another note to play with. The next day, I recreated the recipe with some balsamic-marinated mozz and instead of kosher salt, I swapped in Maldon flaked sea salt.

The result heightened the overall sandwich. Either way you make it though, you’ll be pretty dang satisfied. What are your favorite cheeses to have in a grilled cheese sandwich?