PotW: Meyer lemon ricotta pancakes with lemon curd and warmed blueberries

[last time's Pancake of the Week: Ginger-champagne pancakes with champagne-poached pears]

Meyer lemons!  Oh, how I adore you.

If there's one thing I truly miss about my childhood home, it's the huge meyer lemon tree that's in the backyard.  Our lemon tree (though it should really be deemed a bush, since it's no taller than I am) is quite prolific about producing lemons year round, so we were (and my parents still are) never short of lemons for use.  But, having moved out on my own now, I don't have the luxury of a reliable lemon tree, so when I stumble upon a large box of fresh meyer lemons at Costco, I am literally in heaven.

Given the score! of meyer lemons that have been sitting in my kitchen for the past week, our house has been filled daily with the delicious aroma of lemons in literally everything.  (case in point: mini lemon meringue tartlettes, anyone?) My skin even smells like lemons so much because I'm constantly zesting or juicing.  But who am I to complain?

Lemon-ricotta pancakes

with lemon curd and warmed blueberries

Anyhow, the inspiration for these pancakes came from seeing a Facebook post from my friend who had had lemon-ricotta pancakes somewhere in the Netherlands, and the combination just sounded so awesome that I needed to try them for myself.  The recipe here (adapted from ones around the internets) involves separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks before incorporating everything else.  Though I've never made pancakes with this technique before, the results were so incredible and lighter-than-air that I'm most definitely going to have to experiment with whipped-egg-white-base pancakes more.

To go on top, I opted for even more lemon flavor! with a generous dollop of super, super yummy meyer lemon curd, which--honestly--I just eat straight out of the pot whenever I make it.  I've already made two huge batches of it within the space of a week, and I don't think this second batch will last much longer....

Then, to finish the plate, add some blueberries that have been warmed in the same pan the pancakes were cooked in, and you have an amazingly scrumptious breakfast that's quite reminiscent of summertime flavors.  It most definitely helped to infuse some sunshine into these rainy weeks we've been having here in the Bay.

Have a great start to the week, everyone!  (or, just eat lemon curd.  That's worked out pretty well for me, too. :-P)


Read on for recipe...

Lemon ricotta pancakes
makes ~15-18 silver dollar pancakes

4 egg whites
4 egg yolks
12 oz. ricotta
1 1/2 Tbspn sugar
1 1/2 Tbspn freshly grated lemon zest
6 oz. AP flour

1. In a mixer on medium high, whip the egg whites until stiff.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, ricotta, sugar, and zest in a separate bowl.  Add flour and stir to combine.
3. Once egg whites reach stiff peaks, stop whipping.  Whisk about a fourth of the egg whites into the egg yolk and ricotta mixture.
4. Gently fold in the remainder of the egg whites into the batter.
5. Oil lightly a medium hot skillet and cook the pancakes.


Meyer lemon curd
makes ~2 cups

1 cup sugar
6 Tbpsn corn starch
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed meyer lemon juice
3 egg yolks
2 Tbspn butter, softened
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 Tbspn freshly grated meyer lemon zest

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the cold water and lemon juice.
2. Add the egg yolks and butter, blending until smooth.
3. Gradually add in the boiling water, stirring constantly.
4. Place the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring gently with a spatula and scraping the bottom (to prevent burning). Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute.
5. Remove the curd from heat and mix in the lemon zest. Cool completely.


For topping, cook frozen (or fresh) blueberries in the same pan after the pancakes are done, adding a little pad of butter.  Cook until the berries begin to release juices.


Enjoy!