I like lunch. Lunch is less of a production than dinner. And it’s perfectly acceptable, if not always practical, to linger midday over a meal. Time spent daydreaming over a plate of food shouldn’t be considered lost or squandered — it should be prized and revered. Lunch is a treasured time to retreat from the morning and reset for the remainder of your day.

Who doesn’t love a good sandwich? A classic tuna on toasted wheat ranks right up there with other venerated lunch headliners like the BLT and club. Yet, we can revisit and update this familiar favorite. In this interpretation, creamy cottage cheese sneaks in to make a surprise appearance. And our toasted wheat is lavished with a schmear of rich avocado butter. It’s lunch, only better.

CREAMY TUNA SALAD SANDWICH

Makes: 4 open-faced sandwiches

Tuna salad:

1 (8-ounce) can tuna packed in olive oil, drained

½ cup full-fat cottage cheese

3 tablespoons quality mayonnaise

1⁄3 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped

2 tablespoons capers

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 slices wheat bread, lightly toasted

2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt, to taste

Avocado butter:

1 ripe avocado

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Juice from half a lemon

Freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt, to taste

To make the avocado butter: In a bowl, peel and mash the avocado with a fork. Add the softened butter and lemon juice and stir to combine. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the sandwiches.

To make the tuna salad: In a medium bowl, break up the chunks of tuna with a fork. Add the cottage cheese, mayonnaise, red onion, celery, capers, lemon juice, dill, parsley and Dijon mustard and stir until combined. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Assemble the sandwich: Toast the bread and spread each piece with some avocado butter. Place a layer of sliced tomato and add a scoop of tuna salad on top. Sprinkle with freshly cracked pepper. Serve immediately.