SRC: Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

My partner for this month's Secret Recipe Club was Aly of Cooking in Stilettos.  I was tempted by lots of the delicious recipes on her blog, like her black and tan brownies, short rib chili, and ancho-tequila chicken.  Yum!  But, as you guys know well, I am a sucker for good brunch food!  Taking time to make something special on a Saturday or Sunday morning is one of my favorite weekend treats.  These blueberry ricotta pancakes are a perfect weekend pancake in my mind (and stomach) -- they're sweet and delicious, and they won't take all morning to make.

I've had plenty of lemon ricotta pancakes at restaurants, but never any with blueberries inside.  It's a great pairing - the ricotta makes the pancakes more moist and almost custard-y, while the blueberries provide bright, juicy flavor.  Of course, you could easily substitute chocolate chips or another fruit if you prefer -- I also love small-diced apples in pancakes.  I loved that this recipe used lots of ricotta cheese, because I always end up with some left over in the fridge from lasagna, calzones, or pizza.  You can use part-skim if that's what you have on hand, but I think whole milk ricotta makes these even yummier.  Fair warning: these are a bit trickier to flip than normal pancakes, because the ricotta makes them a little more fragile, but the extra effort will be well worth it once you sit down to a plate of hot, delicious blueberry pancakes.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis, via Cooking in Stilettos)
Serves 2-3

1-2/3 cups water
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups instant pancake or waffle mix
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
Cooking spray
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

1. In a large bowl, combine the water and vanilla extract.  Add the pancake mix and whisk until just combined - some lumps are okay.  Add the ricotta, and again whisk until just combined.
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and set the oven to warm.  Spray the skillet with cooking spray.
3. Ladle the batter into the skillet, about 1/4 cup per pancake, working in batches.  As soon as you put the batter in the skillet, drop several blueberries onto each pancake.  When the top is bubbling and starting to set, flip.  When the pancakes are cooked through, transfer to a plate, cover with foil, and stash in the warm oven until all the pancakes are cooked.  Repeat with the remaining batter and blueberries.
4. Serve hot with toppings of your choice - butter and syrup are delicious!

Plus, here are my past Secret Recipe Club creations: baked egg over veggies, cranberry-lemon quick bread with pecans, eggplant parmesan pasta bake, fifteen-minute dinner rolls, green chile cornbread, creamy chicken lasagna, salt-marinated steak, chocolate apple cake, summer salad, crispy smashed potatoes, m. jacques' brandy chicken, roasted carrots with spiced pistachios, buttermilk waffles, herbed bulghur wheat salad, oatmeal jam bars, rhubarb-ginger spice bread, zesty lemon and almond sticks, portuguese corn bread, chocolate brownie cookies, flat iron steak with blue cheese sauce, creamy scramble with fresh veggies, turkey chili, crisp and spicy roasted chickpeas with lamb

And, here are the recipes from my blog that my SRC partners have tested: spiced oatmeal cranberry apricot cookies, pear spice bread, pork belly soup with collard greens, asparagus pesto pasta, lemon sponge pie, baked eggplant parmesan, almond crunch coffee cake, strawberry crisp, world peace cookies, thai green beans with tofu, blueberry peach crisp, salty caramel ice cream, orange-chocolate macaroons, chewy chocolate brownie cakes, dark chocolate and sea salt cookies, steak au poivre, pear-pecan spice bread, valencia orange curd, nutella chocolate chip cookies, nutella chocolate chip cookies (2.0)