Plane food no more

Or how to eat well while travelling

A few years ago, while on a plane, I met this Norwegian couple in their fifties, who had a very no-nonsense attitude towards life. I vaguely remember the trigger to our conversation, but I deeply remember what kept it going: food. Or, more precisely, how one eats well while travelling ( or on flights).

That conversation spanned topics from food and food waste to climate change, how to be organised, and more. I asked them how they came to pack food on a flight, and they told me they’ve always done that. As we conversed, I thought of their attitude as a way of life rather than something particular about food. Finding ways to stay in good health seemed like a no-brainer to them.

And the Norwegian couple was not alone in this.

When I was working in the Netherlands and travelling a lot, I noticed this pattern among Dutch people too, especially those travelling with young children. It was common to see a toddler holding a small pot and munching on baby cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, or berries while on a plane.

I was musing on this fact when I realised their supermarket system makes this possible. Most supermarkets, especially in airports, provide plenty of ready-to-go healthy options, from packages with veggies and hummus to ones with berries, yoghurt, and seeds. These food options are also placed at eye level on the shelves, making the decision process easy for customers, which is what they need, especially when they’re trying to make a decision and are pressed for time.

Throughout the years, many of my friends have asked me how I eat well while travelling. “Define well,” I always tell them.

“You know, the sort of healthy foods you always eat”, they reply.

I sometimes laugh at this retort because I’m notorious for bringing with me foods people won’t expect to see on a flight, a mountain peak, or a hike, for that matter. Ask Chris, my friend, who, years after the fact, is still teasing me about bringing an avocado with me on a hike and having the audacity to cut it and eat it on the mountain top.

Or ask Radu, my other friend, with whom I have travelled a lot and who, like me, still gets curious stares when he opens his homemade sandwich on a plane or, worse, peels and eats a hard-boiled egg while munching on crunchy pieces of bell pepper.

As with everything, packing home-prepped food for my flights started with friction. About five years ago, just a month before the madness of the pandemic began, I was going on a ski trip, the last of that sort that year (or any sort, in 2020). I was fed up with missing breakfast on early flights and hated the kind of food served on a plane. Even on economy flights, most of the time, I left it untouched.

That’s because it was not only unhealthy, but also full of chemicals, emulsifiers, xanthan gums, and obscure oils. It also tasted like disappointment and disaster most of the time I tried it (at least when I dared to try it, it did).

So I resolved to find a way to fix this, thinking what could I take with me that would (mostly) keep fresh and won’t upset my stomach. The options I go for nowadays are things I’d often have at home too, like boiled eggs and some veggies, panini or sandwiches that are not super perishable, fruits and nuts, and sometimes taralli (when I don’t forget to buy them and take them with me). Dried foods like taralli help with an upset tummy, especially on longer flights.

One of the recipes I love to prepare and take with me, which makes for a hearty breakfast, is a chicken, mozzarella, and pesto sandwich. As for the next two weeks, I will be at my sister’s and have promised to cook her a thing or two, I sneaked this recipe through the ones I decided to prepare for her too.

This sandwich ticks all the boxes for taste, crunch, and flavour. It keeps me full for at least four hours and is also great for my blood sugar levels, so it’s body-approved.

To ensure it doesn’t get soggy, I assemble it before leaving home for my flight, but I prepare the chicken and the pesto the night before. I like to slice some tomatoes and layer them over some big fresh salad leaves for added crunch.

Imagine this: the base, a slice of sourdough bread, toasted and spread with homemade pesto, layered with slices of tomato, mozzarella, chicken, and salad, another slice of tomato, and on top, the second slice of sourdough bread, also spread with pesto.

Preparing this kind of sandwich reminds me of Chetna and her series “Between the Slices,” which I love.

What sandwich recipe holds a special meaning for you? Leave a comment and share below!

Chicken mozzarella pesto panini

When I have this at home, and everything is freshly made and the chicken is hot from the pan, this panini, as Italians call it, is to die for.

Serves:2

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

400g chicken breast

1 tablespoon olive oil

The juice of 1/2 a small to medium lemon

Provence or Italian herbs to season

Salt and pepper to season

For the pesto

• 30 basil leaves

• 1 garlic clove

• 25 g grated Parmesan

• 35-45 ml extra virgin olive oil ( you can swap it for another oil of choice)

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 25-30g pine nuts, toasted

• Salt and freshly ground pepper to season

Method

1. Cut the chicken breast lengthwise into thin pieces and place them on a big wooden cutting board. Underneath the cutting board, place a cotton kitchen towel to prevent slipping.

2. Cover the meat with a baking sheet and tenderise it with a rolling pin. Then, place it in a bowl and season well with herbs of choice, salt and pepper, olive oil or ghee, and lemon juice. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes so the meat absorbs all the flavours.

3. Place a pan on high-medium heat, and when it’s hot, add a tablespoon of ghee and the chicken. Cook it until golden-brown on both sides, ensuring it is not overcooked. Cooking it this way will keep its juices, and the meat will be tender and tasty.

4. When the meat is done, place your sourdough bread slices and toast them in the meat juices.

5. In a blender or food processor, add the garlic, the toasted pine nuts, and lemon juice and pulse until small pieces of the pine nuts form. We want that for texture and taste.

6. Add the basil, season with salt and pepper, and pulse until combined. Then add the olive oil in steps, and continue blending. Lastly, add the parmesan and pulse again until it combines with the rest of the ingredients.

7. Taste the pesto, adjust the seasoning, and add extra oil if necessary.

8. Spread the pesto on the sourdough bread slices and assemble the sandwich as described in the article. Remove the excess water before slicing the mozzarella so the sandwich doesn’t get soggy.

9. Serve with a fresh side salad, extra avocado slices, or some pickled onion slices.

Let me know in the comments if you try it.

P.S. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. x