Edible Vancouver Island November/December 2023

FEATURE RECIPE

polar plunge lunch

PHOTO + RECIPE DANIELLE STEINER

When you get home invigorated from your polar bear dip, a hearty, healthy sandwich hits just right. To be honest, I grew up kind of hating sandwiches, until I discovered they could be as gourmet as I desired. This humble sandwich is one of my favourites– I’m no chef, so the ingredients are simple, but after the hectic holidays, “simple” is exactly what I want. It’s also a great example of how you don’t need to have fancy ingredients or impressive culinary skills to make a lunch that is both tasty and nutritious. Bread: A flatbread focaccia made the perfect bookends for our sandwiches this particular day. Spread: We whipped up some dry cottage cheese for a high-protein spread that’s a great alternative to mayo. Vegetables: Atop the whipped cottage cheese, we layered a bed of spinach; on top of that, we generously piled on some onions we had fried in balsamic vinegar. Meat: Grilled chicken breast–oh, the beauty of Vancouver Island where we can barbecue year-round! But you can also bake or fry up a chicken breast. Cheese: No sandwich is complete without it, in my opinion. We popped some Gouda on the chicken for the last few minutes on the grill to melt it a little. Fruit: Since we had the barbecue out, we grilled some apple slices with a dash of cayenne. (In the summer, using fresh peach slices with a sprinkle of spice is my favourite!)

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