[Photo: Robin Bellinger]

I make pancakes a couple of times a month, but had never tried ricotta pancakes until last week. They were easier to flip than my regular buttermilk batch, had a delicately crisp exterior, and were thicker and moister without seeming raw in the middle. Unsurprisingly, they were very light, even though I used plain old supermarket cheese in a tub instead of fresh Italian ricotta, as they do at Rose Bakery in Paris.

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea said this recipe would feed eight people—in our house it fed two adults and a baby and left one of the adults (ahem) quite hungry. I guess we are not using French portion control! Perhaps as part of a complete brunch spread this would satisfy eight; bring on the scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage for a lumberjack breakfast. Lumberjacks eat ricotta, right?

After the Wednesday Chef wrote about Edna Lewis's sour-milk griddle cakes with stewed berries, I got into the habit of heating frozen blueberries to top my pancakes, no matter what kind. My way isn't really a recipe—just put some frozen blueberries, the amount you think you'll want to eat, into a small saucepan with a splash of water and a spoonful of sugar. Heat until they bubble and then let them bubble gently for a few minutes. Sometimes I add a few drops of vanilla or a squeeze of lemon.

Ricotta Pancakes

-serves 8 (per book) or 2 (per experience)-

Adapted from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea