Jan Bergen’s Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

 A favorite recipe from former LG Health CEO Jan Bergen

You may already know that two of my passions are my family and cooking. So few things are more enjoyable than gathering around the table for a home-cooked meal. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are a favorite Sunday morning treat for my family. I hope you’ll like them, too. Fresh lemon zest and fluffy ricotta make a perfect pair when swirled together into a light and airy pancake. 

Enjoy!

P.S. I found this recipe online years ago and have enjoyed it since.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes (if cooking four pancakes at a time)
Total time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk (or substitute 1% milk)
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon packed finely grated lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (or substitute part skim milk ricotta cheese)
• Blueberries or other fresh berries, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until butter has melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
3. Place egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisk in a quarter of the milk-butter mixture. (This will temper the eggs to avoid curdling.) Then whisk in remaining milk-butter mixture until smooth.
4. Add reserved flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until combined (don’t over mix). Set aside.
5. In medium bowl whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Halfway through whisking egg whites, sprinkle in remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. With rubber spatula, fold the whites into the reserved batter until just combined.
6. Gently fold the ricotta into the batter, being careful not to break down the texture of the ricotta. (The batter will be lumpy and streaked with ricotta.) Set aside.
7. Heat a large nonstick frying pan or griddle on medium low until hot (4 minutes). When pan is ready, lightly coat pan surface with butter or cooking spray and scoop ¼ cup measure of the batter onto the pan. Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancakes (4-5 minutes). Flip and cook other side until bottoms are golden brown (1-2 minutes). Repeat until all batter is used.
8. Combine fresh berries after washing them. Sprinkle with confectionery sugar, if desired, (I don’t do this) and serve berries on pancakes, optional.

Makes about 14 pancakes.

Nutritional Information
One pancake using 1% milk and part skim milk ricotta cheese: 119 calories; 6.3g total fat (3.5g saturated, 0.4g polyunsaturated, 1.8g monounsaturated); 202mg sodium; 58mg cholesterol; 11.5g carbohydrate; 0.4g fiber; 3.0g sugars; 4.1g protein; 78.0mg potassium.