Ricotta, Yogurt and Lemon Pancakes

My feelings for pancakes are a little… meh. Sometimes I crave them, but for the most part they don’t really excite me. I came across a recipe for pancakes that called for ricotta cheese and plain yogurt, and it intrigued me. Boy howdy, am I so glad I tried ‘em.

First off, I separated three eggs. Now, I know separating eggs can seem intimidating for some and make you think you need a fancy gadget for it, but really, it’s quite simple. You just need a bit of patience and the egg shell. Crack the egg open and gently roll the yolk back and forth between the two shells, letting the white pour out between the opening. It might take a couple tries, but it’s cake once you get used to it.

Add the three egg yolks (save the whites for a couple steps from now!) to a bowl with 1 cup of ricotta (or cottage cheese) and 1 cup of plain yogurt (or sour cream) and blend them together.

Next you’re going to whisk those three egg whites up. I love recipes that don’t waste half an egg. Or multiple halves of eggs as the case may be. At any rate, beat them till they’re stiff and form peaks, but not super dry. Just foamy and beautiful. :)

By the way, when I showed these wondrous little things to Josh (in part to show him why I wanted those beaters even though I don’t bake, and also because I don’t beat egg whites much and am easily amused), he grinned and said, “You know, back in the day women had to beat those by hand.” My response? “Yes, and the men also built their houses by hand, sooo….” I think he’s okay with the beaters. ;) After bantering with the husband, I mixed together 1 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon of (raw) sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda, and a sprinkle of salt.

Then I got some lemon juice and zest ready. The lemons we had weren’t super juicy, so I cut the pulp out. I do that by carving the little triangles out between the membranes with a paring knife and then squeeze what juice I can from it. It helps make the most of a dry lemon or lime.

As for zest, I know you’re supposed to use a fine grater for that, but I seem to lose most of the zest within the grater. It just stays packed in there! My dad showed me this trick once - take some of your lemon peel and lay it flat. Very carefully, slide your knife along the peel to cut out all of the bitter white, like so:

Then, slice it into thin strips…

Then dice it up…

I know it’s a bit more tedious than grating it, and it’s not as fine, but personally I’d rather do this if I have the time than try to pick most of my zest out of the grater. Or try to scrub the thing out later. :)

Now we start combining ingredients! First the flour mixture…

Then the lemon juice and zest…

And lastly, the egg whites! Just fold them in gently!

Now to fry ‘em. I learned a trick in a breakfast class I took once… Put your oil in the bottom of the pan, put your batter in, then - add some butter. Butter of course makes everything taste better. If you add a bit of extra butter in after the batter is frying, then swirl the pan around a bit to make sure it gets on all the edges, you end up with buttery sweet crisp edges. And I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t like that.

And now, I have to have a vulnerable moment with you, friends. I have an issue with flipping pancakes. I don’t know if I just make them too big, or if they’re not firmed up enough when I flip them, or if I’m just a little enthusiastic. But often, on that first flip, it looks like something exploded.

Sometimes it’s even worse. Sometimes the pancake gets all caddywompus and folded in on itself and crumpled up in a heap. Maybe if I actually liked pancakes a little more, I would be better at them. Hmmm. At any rate, the mess gives me some crispy edges to nibble on while I’m waiting not-so-patiently for them to finish cooking!

Pile ‘em high on a plate (kept in the oven on warm) and you’re set!

We set the table for Saturday breakfast, complete with a pot of French Press, and are ready to go!

They were excellent! Rich and thick and fluffy, they were especially delicious topped with some raspberries and blueberries. And more butter of course. ;)

Tags: Breakfast

This entry was posted on March 07th, 2009 and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.