These ricotta pancakes are the perfect breakfast treat!
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 15 minutesminutes
Total: 25 minutesminutes
Servings: 163" pancakes, or 4 servings.
Ingredients
3/4poundgood-quality or homemade ricotta cheese (see note)(1 1/3 cup)
4large eggs, separated
zest of 1 lemon
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/4teaspoonsalt
1tablespoonsugar
3ouncesunsalted butter, melted, plus more butter for the pan(6 tablespoons/ 3/4 stick)
1cupflour
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, egg yolks, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and sugar. Stir in the melted butter and flour until just combined.
In another large bowl with a clean whisk, beat the eggs whites until they hold firm peaks. Stir 1/4 of the whipped whites into the ricotta mixture, then fold in the rest of the whites.
Melt a pat of butter on a griddle or in a large skillet over medium heat, and when the pan is hot, drop blobs of batter (I use a very heaping soup spoon), about 1/4 cup onto the pan. Cook until they look slightly dry around the top edges, and are golden brown on the bottom, 1 - 2 minutes, then flip and cook on the second side, another couple of minutes. Place the pancakes on a platter in a 200ºF oven to keep them warm while you cook the rest of the pancakes, adding a small pat of butter to coat the bottom of the pan between batches.
Serve the pancakes with fresh berries (or other seasonal fruit - see headnotand maple syrup.
Extra pancakes reheat beautifully after being refrigerated; toast them in a pan or in a warm oven until heated through.
Notes
These pancakes are both tender and hearty. For a more delicate pancake, and a gluten-free option, see the variation, below.Choose a good-quality ricotta here, preferably one free of gums or stabilizers, such as Bel Fiore, Calabro or Bellweather, or make your own. If your ricotta is very wet, drain it in a strainer for 10 minutes or so before proceeding with the recipe.These pancakes go with almost any fruit, compote or preserve; serve them with strawberry-rhubarb compote or fresh berries in the spring, peaches in the summer, sauteed apples or pears in the fall, or poached quince in winter.Variation:Delicate Ricotta Pancakes (optionally gluten-free): Adapted from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen, no butter, less flour and more sugar produce a lighter, more delicate pancake. (These can be made gluten-free by subbing sweet white rice flour for the all-purpose. The texture will be a bit softer.)Omit the melted butter from the recipe, reduce the flour to 1/2 cup, increase the sugar to 3 tablespoons and increase the lemon zest to that of 1 1/2 lemons.Nutritional values are based on one of sixteen pancakes.