Ricotta-Lemon Pancakes
Why I Love This Recipe
This dish is a perfect example of why everyone has urged and pleaded with us our whole lives to read through a recipe in its entirety before starting to recreate it. It’s really not just something your mother says to wind you up or question your cooking abilities. Case in point, these ricotta pancakes that almost made me quit cooking for good. No sympathy please. It was my own fault.
Read about more of my cooking adventures at ErinCooks.com
Ricotta-Lemon Pancakes (originally published in Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Healthful Cooking).
Serves 4 (Note: If they don’t stick to the pan).
Ingredients You'll Need
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup 1-percent milk
3 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Kosher salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
4 cups mixed berries such as whole blueberries and raspberries or trimmed and sliced strawberries
1 Tablespoon fresh Lemon juice
1 teaspoon canola oil
1-2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Preheat over to 250 F (120 C)
Place the ricotta in a large bowl. Add the milk, egg yolks, and granulated sugar and whisk together until blended. Add the flour, lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and using a rubber spatula, fold until just blended.
In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites and the cream of tartar and, using a whisk or a handheld electric mixer set on medium speed, beat until soft peaks form. Using the rubber spatula, carefully fold the beaten whites into the ricotta mixture just until blended.
In a bowl, combine the berries and lemon juice and stir gently to blend. Set aside.
Place a large nonstick griddle or frying pan with low sloping sides over medium heat until hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle and then immediately evaporate. Brush the surface with a thin film of canola oil. For each pancake, ladle a scant 1/3 cup batter onto the hot surface. Reduce the heat to a medium-low and cook until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pancakes and the bottoms are lightly browned, 4-5 minutes. Carefully turn and cook until the other sides are lightly browned, 2-3 minutes longer. Transfer to an ovenproof platter and place in the oven to keep warm; do not cover the pancakes or they will get soggy. Repeat with the remaining batter. You will have enough batter to make 12 pancakes, each about 3 inches in diameter.
Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the warm pancakes generously with confectioners sugar to taste. Serve the pancakes with the berries on the side.
Read about more of my cooking adventures at ErinCooks.com