Ricotta Pancakes

I don't often get excited about breakfast.  If we have eggs on a weekday, you can bet we're out of milk.  I do usually cook breakfast either Saturday or Sunday, but more to get the family together at the table than because I love breakfast so much.  Give me coffee and the paper, and I'm set.

I had a gigantic tub of ricotta in the fridge (see Butternut Squash Lasagna and Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi), and some blueberries in the freezer, and so I went on an Internet quest to find a recipe.  Most I found called for whipped egg whites, and I'm sure they make a beautiful, fluffy, light-as-air pancake, but whipping egg whites in the morning, on a weekend, requires way too much in the way of dishes and effort for people who are just barely awake.  So the quest continued until I found a recipe that did not require more than one bowl, or electrical equipment, and we were quite pleased with the results.  The blueberries (or any fruit, really) are a great complement to the pancakes, but certainly not necessary.  In fact, if we hadn't been out of maple syrup, there would be no blueberries.

Ricotta Pancakes w Blueberry Compote

• 2 c fresh or frozen blueberries


• 1 T lemon juice


• 1/4 c sugar


• 2 T cornstarch


• 1/2 c whole wheat flour


• 1/4 c + 2 T flour


• 1 tsp sugar


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1/4 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp nutmeg


• 3/4 c ricotta cheese


• 1 egg


• 1 egg white


• 1/2 c buttermilk

In a small saucepan, mix the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.  Heat over medium-low heat until boiling.  Boil one minute until sauce is thickened and berries burst, then reduce heat to low and keep warm until pancakes are finished.

Meanwhile, mix flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg.  In a separate bowl, whip together egg and egg white, ricotta, and buttermilk.  Add the liquid ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Heat a griddle or saute pan over medium heat.  Brush or spray with vegetable oil.  Pour 1/4 c batter for each pancake, and cook until bubbles form all over the surface.  Flip and cook other side.  Serve with blueberry compote.