Meyer lemon ricotta pancakes w/ strawberry coulis

These pancakes were just amazing...light, fluffy, a hint of zesty lemon. Mmmmm.

I saw Anne Burrell from Food Network make these on her show a while back, and it sounded so interesting to me.  So when I found that our local grocery store was selling bags full of Meyer lemons, I was excited to try out the recipe.

Anyone who knows me knows that I've always loved lemony things.  For so many years I have asked for the same kind of birthday cake - lemon with chocolate frosting, that too out of a box.  Now that I have taken more interest in fine cooking and baking, somehow it hasn't changed -- maybe it's the simple contrast of the tart lemon to the sweet chocolate?  I love that you can do so many different things with lemon. I guess you can say that about citrus fruits in general, but there's something so unique about the lemon with it's tart flavor.

The Meyer lemon is unique because it is slightly sweeter than other kinds of lemons.  It's distinctive, mostly because of the hint of tangerine -- I read somewhere that it is actually a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.  It is, as a fruit, an inspiration to many chefs - because it's not just an average lemon.

For brunch Saturday morning - just for my mom and myself - I made these delicious Meyer lemon ricotta pancakes, adapted from Chef Anne Burrell's recipe.  Instead of from scratch, I used Log Cabin's whole wheat pancake mix (meaning no baking powder necessary). 

Meyer Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Macerated Strawberry Coulis

Strawberry coulis:

• 1 quart strawberries, topped and quartered
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice

Pancakes:

• 2 cups Log Cabin All Natural Pancake mix (from whole grains)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt, plus a pinch for egg whites
• 4 eggs, yellows and whites separated
• 1 heaping cup ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced
• Canola oil, for cooking the pancakes
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Strawberries:

Toss the strawberries with the sugar and orange juice. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

After the berries and sugar have macerated and become very juicy, remove 1/2 of the berry mixture, put it in a food processor (and hand blender will do) and puree until smooth. Return it to the rest of the berries and reserve until ready to use.

Pancakes:

Sift together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, ricotta, milk and lemon zest and juice, and mix until it becomes homogeneous. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients to the well and whisk until combined.

Preheat a griddle (or nonstick pan).

In another bowl, using a whisk or electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the flour mixture in thirds. Do this quickly and gently so the pancakes will be light and fluffy.

Pour a couple drops of oil onto the preheated griddle (or nonstick pan), and spread it around with a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Keep the fire on medium-low, as the pancakes can burn quickly.  Spoon or ladle the pancake batter onto the prepared griddle to desired size of the pancake. When the top of the pancake is full of holes, like bubbles have risen to the surface and burst, the pancake is ready to flip. (Another way to test this is to when trying to pick the pancake up from the side, see if the spatula becomes wet from the batter - it still needs time then.)  Flip the cake(s) and cook until the bottom is golden brown.

Remove the pancakes from the grill to serving plates. Top with the macerated strawberry coulis and garnish with powdered sugar.

Enjoy on a weekend morning for brunch with family & friends :)