I spent this past weekend in a little cabin on the Umpqua river, cooking up a storm for the Juliet Zulu retreat. My lovely and talented friend Adriana joined me in this cooking adventure, and she was the best cooking partner I could ask for. We worked our tails off, but everything turned out beautifully. It was a blur of cooking, cleaning, laughter, sunshine, and s’mores.
I made these pancakes on the first morning of the retreat, and they were everything I hoped they would be. They were light and lemony, with just the right amount of moisture and density from the ricotta. The blueberry syrup was fresh and warm and was the perfect compliment to the pancakes. (This might be my new favorite breakfast.)
I can’t say this weekend was easy, but it was good. I’m thankful that Juliet Zulu trusted me to feed them for an entire weekend, and I’m extremely thankful that I had such a great cooking companion.
I couldn’t have done it without you, Adriana!
Photo by Natalie Bosteder
Ingredients
- For the pancakes:
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Zest of 1 lemon
- For the blueberry syrup:
- 1 pint of blueberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- To make the syrup:
- Combine the blueberries, 3/4 cup of sugar, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in a small pot. Heat over med-low and stir to combine. Allow the blueberry mixture to come to a slow boil and reduce the heat to low. Allow the mixture to simmer for at least 15 minutes (until it reaches a syrupy consistency). Set aside until use. (Taste and add more sugar if needed.)
- To make the pancakes:
- If using somewhat watery or runny ricotta, strain the ricotta with cheesecloth (or a mesh strainer) for 30 minutes prior to using. (The ricotta I used was thick & dry, so I skipped this step.)
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, sand salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- In a third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
- Gently combine the dry ingredients with the ricotta mixture. Using a spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter and stir until the mixture is just combined.
- Heat a griddle over medium-high heat and brush the surface with butter. Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour the batter into small circles on the hot griddle. When bubbles begin to form, flip the pancakes. (About 2-3 minutes per side). Adjust griddle heat if needed.
- Serve pancakes warm, with blueberry syrup.
http://rosemarried.co/2013/07/25/lemon-ricotta-pancakes-with-fresh-blueberry-syrup/