Salat z Sochevytsi (салат з сочевиці, lentil salad)

Warm lentils are greedy. Dress them cold and the oil slides around the bowl; dress them while they still smell nutty from the pot and they drink up garlic, vinegar, green sunflower oil, and the walnuts that soften into the dressing like they were always meant to be there.

This is not a grand feast dish. Good. Some of the best Ukrainian food lives in the weekday bowl, the kind you make when money is tight, guests might still appear, and you need something that will sit well in the fridge without turning sad. In my London kitchen I make it in the autumn, when walnuts are fresh and a bunch of dill still makes the whole room feel green, but it is just as honest in February with stored onions and a jar of sour tomatoes on the side.

The one thing that decides the dish is timing. Salt the lentils after they soften so their skins don't toughen, then drain them well and dress them hot enough to wake the garlic. Aunt Nadia would have written, "until the smell changes," and here it means the raw bite turns round, the oil smells grassy, and the walnuts go from dry crunch to something almost creamy. Make a big bowl. Leftovers are tomorrow's lunch, and tomorrow they may be better.