Sassy Radish

Where did we leave off? Oh, that’s right, I was telling you about my love affair with ricotta. I wasn’t kidding you know because I was in this predicament, you see. I was craving pumpkins, but not just regular buttermilk pancakes, no sir. Regular pancakes were not going to do. I wanted lighter, fluffier, delicate pancakes. Pancakes that would almost dissolve upon hitting my tongue. Which, of course, meant adding some ricotta. See, how clever I am in making sure my current obsession makes an appearance.

Of course, I had to make it more complicated, or what fun would it be? When I think of ricotta pancakes, I usually think of lemon ricotta pancakes. And the ones I wrote about awhile back were stunning and decadent. And yet, in the middle of November, days before Thanksgiving, I had pumpkin on my mind. Pumpkin ricotta pancakes – why not? But that meant I had to create a recipe from various sources because I searched far and wide and while I found pumpkin pancakes and lemon ricotta pancakes, there were no pumpkin ricotta ones anywhere.

Plus, I think this is all very à propos, because something tells me that after this Thursday some of you might have some leftover pumpkin and you might want to figure out a way to use it. And besides, who doesn’t love pancakes the day after Thanksgiving?

If you can spend the day in your pajamas lounging around, what better way to start it than with a plate of these?

Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes
Adapted from a variety of places

Ingredients:
7 tbsp of butter
1/3 cups whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tbsp and 1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp plus 2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
Dash of cinnamon
Butter for the griddle
Grade B maple syrup for serving

Preparation:

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the butter, milk and buttermilk until butter melts. Set aside until lukewarm. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly pour ½ cup of he warm dairy mixture into the eggs while stirring. Stir in the remaining milk mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, a little at a time, stirring slowly, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter should be lumpy and will start to bubble. Quickly stir in vanilla.

If you were to make plain pancakes, you would stop right here.

For pumpkin ricotta pancakes, however, your journey continues.

Stir the butter, the pumpkin puree and ricotta. Stir well. Add cinnamon and stir until mixed in.

Clean the griddle by wiping an oily cloth over it and set it over moderate heat. (It’s hot enough when a drop of water bounces off the surface.) Gently oil the griddle. Just before you drop the batter, run cold butter across the area where you are doing to cook. When the butter bubbles, drop the batter in 4-inch circles and immediately raise the heat to medium high. Cook, adjusting the heat so as not to burn the pancakes until bubbles appear all over, 1-3 minutes. Using a think, clean spatula, quickly turn the pancakes and gently tap to make them uniform in thickness. Lower the heat and cook until the second side is golden, about 2 minutes more.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

Makes about 12 4-inch pancakes.