Purrrfect Pancakes

Matt is not a pancake fan, and yet it is a breakfast staple of mine. Growing up, Sunday mornings were my favorite because Mom made either homemade pancakes or waffles, sometimes served with homemade raspberry or strawberry jam (there's only a few left now in the freezer). Sometimes she'd even surprise us with bacon or sausage as a side, and as always, orange juice to drink (they didn't have organic juice in those days). It's one of my favorite memories and many emotions are tied to them, happy ones of course. The house was always so warm and snuggly on those mornings, and Mom, Dad and I (and Katie too when she finally arrived) would talk about the week that we had and the week that was coming up.

But I digress...

In search of more breakfast recipes, I came across one for Lemon Ricotta Cheese pancakes. What really got me excited was that this was not a standard pancake recipe. Sure, it involves buttermilk, but the flavors are totally different and the buttermilk adds a nice tartness that balances out the lemon. The ricotta adds depth and texture. I reccomend serving these on warm plates with strawberry or raspberry jam and a side of bacon never hurts!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
from Sunset Magazine

Notes: This is our adaptation of Crest Cafe's (San Diego, California) lemon-ricotta pancakes, which are served with fresh strawberries and bananas. Top the bananas with a sprinkling of grated lemon peel and offer warm maple syrup to drizzle over the fruit and cakes.


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Salad oil (I used Canola oil which worked just fine)

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks, and lemon peel to blend. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until evenly moistened. Gently stir in ricotta cheese.

2. In a bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. With a flexible spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter just until they are incorporated.

3. Place a nonstick griddle or a 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat (350°); when hot, coat lightly with oil and adjust heat to maintain temperature. Drop batter in 1/2-cup portions onto the griddle and cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes; turn cakes with a wide spatula and brown other sides, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Coat pan with more oil as necessary to cook remaining pancakes.

4. Serve pancakes as cooked, or keep warm in a single layer on baking sheets in a 200° oven for up to 15 minutes.

Yield: Makes about 8 pancakes; 4 servings

CALORIES 318 (21% from fat); FAT 7.6g (sat 2.6g); CHOLESTEROL 116mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48g; SODIUM 759mg; PROTEIN 13g; FIBER 1.4g