Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries

Over the last several weeks, Sarah and I have taken turns going on vacation. I visited the very lovely and blissfully cool and cloudy Oregon coast, while Sarah has been blazing through various Midwestern states. This has been great in many ways, but not so great for our blog which has been sadly neglected. We aim to post with greater frequency very soon! In the meantime, we offer up one of our new favorite breakfast treats.

These are light and ethereal pancakes, and the ricotta makes them surprisingly moist. We took advantage of the abundant blueberries that are in season, but they would also be excellent with frozen blueberries. In  fact, I can't wait to try this recipe which whatever berry I have on hand.

I tend to shy away from recipes that involve beating egg whites, but really it only takes an extra few minutes. If you have an electric mixer, it is seriously no big whoop. And it makes such a big difference in texture and lightness! Totally worth it. Try it, you'll see.

Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberries

adapted from Food & Wine

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tb pure vanilla extract
• unsalted butter, for the griddle
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks, milk, ricotta, sugar, and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
3. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form (watch that you don't over-beat it!) Fold into the batter.
4. Butter your griddle. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle, being sure not to crowd your pancakes. Cook over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, until bottoms are lightly golden. Press a few blueberries unto each pancake, and then flip. Cook a minute or so longer, until pancake is golden. Serve with maple syrup!

Top 10 Recipes with Ricotta

Ever since we made our own ricotta at home, we’ve been keeping our eyes out for great looking recipes featuring this creamy and delicious ingredient. 

Here are our top 10 ricotta recipes, in no particular order.

1. Ricotta Breakfast Bowl

by Two Tarts
A delicious, fast, and easy breakfast.  Just add seasonal fruits, fresh local honey, and crunchy nuts and you have yourself a gourmet breakfast.

2. Strawberry Ricotta Muffins

by The Parsley Thief
These muffins are made with dehydrated strawberries for intense flavor and ricotta for a delicious moist crumb.

3. Ricotta Dumplings with Chevre & Herbs

by the Kitchn
A fast recipe, easy to mix up, and easy to make for a crowd, too. Toss these pillowy, chewy little dumpling squares with a bit of butter, soft goat cheese, and herbs fresh from the garden. Ready in 15 minutes!

4. Creamy Meyer Lemon, Bergamot Orange and Fresh Ricotta Tart

by Fresh New England
Citrus cuts the dense creaminess of this amazing looking tart.

5. Fresh Ricotta and Red Onion Pizza

by Smitten Kitchen
This pizza’s red onions are tangy and a little sweet, but with a hefty pinch of red pepper flakes. Then they’re layered with fresh ricotta and prosciutto that’s been baked to a curly crisp on top.

6. Ricotta, Fig, and Pine Nut Tartlets

by @down under
A simple filling of sweetened ricotta studded with pine nuts and topped with a fresh fig half.  Unfussy and delicious.

7. Zucchini & Ricotta Pancakes

by Scandi Foodie
These simple zucchini and ricotta pancakes are made using chickpea flour which gives a little nuttiness it gives to the dish. Ricotta makes these pancakes extra soft and they are perfect with some lingonberry or other tart jam you might have at home.

8. Ricotta Gnocchi with Leeks and Fava Beans

by epicurious
Seasonal leeks add their earthiness to the gnocchi, and bright green favas sautéed in butter with sage are the edible garnish.

9. Lemon Poppy Seed Ricotta Pancakes

by Martha Stewart
For a special breakfast treat, serve these irresistible fluffy pancakes.

10. Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Ricotta, and Pesto

by Simply Delicious
A beautiful and simple dish: dollop of pesto & fresh ricotta transforms this easy weeknight dinner.

Ricotta Breakfast Bowl

With a few cups of delicious homemade ricotta on hand, I wanted to find a recipe where I could use it and fully experience its wonderfulness without masking it by baking it into pancakes, muffins, etc.

I came up with the idea for a ricotta breakfast bowl with honeycomb, fresh winter fruit, walnuts, and of course – homemade ricotta.

We used to eat honeycomb at my grandparents house – spread on toast with butter.  I remember it being so delicious then but hadn’t had it since, so I was excited to incorporate it into a breakfast bowl.

The fruit & honeycomb are sweet, the ricotta is creamy but substantial, and the walnuts add a little crunch here and there.  I’m obsessed with this as a new item in my breakfast rotation!

 

Ricotta Breakfast Bowl

• 3/4 c. ricotta (homemade if possible)
• 1 pink grapefruit
• 1 clementine
• 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c. honeycomb cut into tiny cubes

This meal is easy to assemble.  Start with the ricotta in a big bowl (you’ll want room to mix it up a bit).  I supremed the grapefruit, which basically means you cut off the outer peel and then insert your knife alongside the inner membranes to extract slices of membrane-free grapefruit.  Here’s a tutorial from my friend Jim, if you’re interested.  I peeled the clementine and cut it into small pieces, then sprinkled the walnuts and small cubes on honeycomb over the top.  Enjoy!