Syrnyky (сирники, curd cheese pancakes)

White curd cheese is a quiet ingredient until it hits butter. Then the edges go gold, the kitchen smells faintly of warm milk and toast, and the middle stays soft enough that you wonder how something this simple can feel so looked after. Syrnyky are breakfast, yes, but also supper when everyone is tired and nobody has the patience for a big pot.

The whole dish depends on dryness. Use tvoroh, Ukrainian curd cheese, or the driest farmer's cheese you can find; if it's wet, wrap it in cloth and let it drip in a sieve. Too much flour makes syrnyky sulk. They should taste of cheese first, with just enough flour to help them stand up in the pan.

Beat the egg separately and stir it in last. That is the small trick that decides them: the cheese takes the flour first, the egg binds at the end, and the mixture holds without turning into paste. Aunt Nadia wrote only "make them tender, not clever," which was no measurement at all and also exactly correct.

Serve them hot under cold smetana and honey, or cherry varennia if you have it. If one cracks, leave it alone and let the crust mend it. The pan knows things.