Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup
Last weekend when we went out for breakfast, I had Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. I had never heard of such a combination before and was very hesitant (it doesn’t really even sound good), but someone told me I had to try them. I’m glad I did because I think 
they were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. They were light, fluffy, super moist, and they had this amazing lemony flavor. The restaurant served the pancakes with fresh strawberries and a thick strawberry syrup, which was a perfect compliment. After eating them, I knew I had to try to make them myself.
I started with the strawberry syrup. I wanted something really simple that wouldn’t overpower the lemony flavor of the pancakes. I found a recipe that is just strawberries, lemon juice, and maple syrup, which I thought would be perfect. The recipe said to puree the strawberries, but I just mashed them with a hand masher and then heated them in a small saucepan. When they were warm, I added the lemon juice and maple syrup and let it cool a bit while I made the pancakes. >>
The pancake recipe I found was pretty straight-forward. I combined flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. The recipe also called for nutmeg, but I didn’t have any so I just skipped that. In another bowl, I mixed together ricotta cheese, eggs, milk, and the juice and zest of a lemon. Zesting fruit is so easy with a microplane, I think I find recipes that can for zest just so I can use it! Anyway, I added the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mixed them just into the were combined. When my skillet was hot, I melted a little butter on it and then poured about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet. The pancakes took about 4 or 5 minutes on each side over medium heat to turn golden brown.
These pancakes were so good. They weren’t quite as fluffy as the restaurants, but they had the same lightness and most importantly, the same great lemony flavor. The ricotta cheese keeps the pancakes really moist, without making them too dense. The strawberry syrup went great with them, although I would probably puree the strawberries next time to get more a syrup consistency. It was a little on the lumpy side, but the taste of it was excellent. I’m so glad I tried these pancakes and I will definitely be making them again!
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