Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Raspberries

As an addendum to my last post on gyros, I faced a situation yesterday in which I had to clean out the perishable food in my fridge, including some leftover gyro materials and sides from this entry's meal. Enter the breakfast gyro bomb, with a toasted flatbread pita encasing gyro meat, bacon, eggs, tomato, onions, hot sauce, and tzatziki sauce. absolutely delicious! leftovers sandwiches are the best.

But let's focus on some lemon ricotta pancakes. I've only had buttermilk pancakes before, or whatever Aunt Jemima and Bisquick puts in a box, so I thought this might be an interesting spin. The result of using ricotta vs. buttermilk or milk is, in my opinion, a lighter, more airy final product that's great for the summer months. Add some lemon curd (essentially like that lemon custard you find in pies, yumm) and fresh raspberries on top, and some bacon and eggs on the side, and we are talking some serious breakfast eats.


you can find this in the jam/preserves section of larger or more upscale grocery stores


Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 10-12 medium pancakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 generous Tbsp sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced completely
Butter or cooking spray
1/2 jar (5-6 oz) lemon curd
1 half-pint container fresh raspberries
Confectioners sugar, for garnish

Equipment:
2 Mixing bowls
Whisk
Griddle or pan with large cooking surface
Small sauce pan

Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined (overmixing will cause the pancakes to be dense and flat). Let batter rest for a few minutes, or overnight.

Turn the stovetop to medium heat, and brush the hot griddle with butter. For each pancake, pour approximately 1/3 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light golden brown.

mmm look out airy that batter is. followed by pancake mountain!

Warm lemon curd into a small saucepan over low heat. Alternatively, microwave on 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stopping after 1 minute to stir the curd. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the curd over the pancakes, top with fresh raspberries, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.