In case you missed it, last week I had a recipe on The Kitchn for a cold lentil salad with cucumbers and olives, and a few words attempting to persuade you to make lentil salads in general this season. In this case I made one large batch of the same recipe, but I often prefer to cook up a big pot of lentils to use throughout the week with various other add-ins and dressings.

This version with crunchy cucumbers, briny olives, fresh mint, and creamy ricotta tossed together with a sherry vinaigrette is one I come back to every year; in fact, I originally published the recipe on my old (now deleted) blog. These are my favorite dishes to share – the ones that become a comfortable part of my kitchen living, drifting in and out of rotation based on season and mood. I hope you give the recipe a try or that it prompts you to pull together a cold lentil salad of your own creation.