Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes!

When I decide to get creative with my cooking, I enjoy it! When I bake and try out new recipes, I enjoy it. I love the various food blogs that I run across and I always think I could blog about that. Of course as my little posse of followers have figured out I get an F in the blog world, none the less I do think about my blog and decided I should do my annual update..haha!


I have yet to start crafting again even though I hear my sewing machine and serger whispering to me through out the day. I do wish I had an amazing project to share but I don't. I do however have a delicious pancake recipe. I had the idea to share this recipe the first time I made them and figured I should take some pictures. Yes, these pictures have been sitting in my camera forever but it is never too late to share pancakes! Now, I also have pictures of Butternut Squash soup, Banana Bread, and Pumpkin Bread.. those may have to wait until the Fall.


So last year John and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We went and stayed the night at a hotel and ate breakfast there in the morning. I ordered these divine Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes and could not stop thinking about them well after our celebration.  I knew at some point I was going to want these again and went to search out a recipe. There were actually quite a few recipes but I chose the recipe that I found on the Martha Stewart website. I modified the recipe slightly because I wanted  more of a lemon flavor, so before I folded in the egg whites I squeezed half of a lemon (maybe more) into the batter. The second time I made the pancakes I omitted the poppyseeds and decided I could go either way, with or without poppyseeds. If you are looking to make something quick these are not what I would recommend but if you want a special breakfast and can devote a little extra time, you must try these. The batter is quite different the normal pancake batter and the consistency of the pancake is also differnt so just keep that in mind.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I and now my family do!








Lemon-Ricotta Poppyseed Pancakes


Makes 16 pancakesIngredients


6 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 large lemons (and additional lemon juice)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Vegetable oil, for griddle
Maple syrup, warmed
Berries, for garnish


Directions

1.Place egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until they form firm, glossy peaks.


2.In a large bowl, beat together ricotta, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds. Using a rubber spatula, stir flour mixture into ricotta mixture.


3.Fold a large spoonful of whipped egg whites into ricotta mixture. Continue folding in remaining egg whites.


4.Coat a griddle or large skillet with oil and heat over high heat until very hot, then reduce heat to medium. Working in batches, place 1/4 cup batter for each pancake on griddle, leaving space, as they will spread. Cook until golden and top begins to bubble, about 2 minutes. Gently turn and continue cooking until bottoms are light brown. Transfer to a serving plate and keep warm until all the pancakes have cooked. Serve with maple syrup and berries.

Recipe by: Martha Stewart