Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes
Feeds 6

Whenever we have some leftover fresh ricotta – and darn, there’s a problem – we make these lemon-ricotta pancakes. They’re lovely and lemony, creamy with the ricotta and not too dense with flour. You might think that beating the egg whites is a bit fussy, but the lightness you’ll find from this is worth the small amount of effort. Just try to make them last longer than 5 minutes.

1-1/3 cups fresh ricotta
4 large eggs, separated
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
105 grams All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix (see below)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch cream of tartar
Melted butter for oiling the pan

COMBINING THE WET INGREDIENTS. Whisk together the ricotta, egg yolks, sugar, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Set aside.

COMBINING THE DRY INGREDIENTS. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Scatter the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and fold them together with a rubber spatula until just combined.

BEATING THE EGG WHITES. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (Or you can use a bowl, a whisk, and your strong arms). Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they form soft peaks, about 5 minutes. Fold the egg whites into the batter gently. Remember that you don’t want to crush that lovely fresh ricotta or the structure of the egg whites.

MAKING THE PANCAKES. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Grease the pan liberally (and by liberally, I mean a lot) with butter. Pour the pancake batter into the buttered pan, about 1/4 cup at a time. When bubbles have started to form and pop on top of the pancakes, flip them. Cook for about 1 minute more, and set aside on a plate. Continue until you have cooked all the pancakes.

All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix

I think of this as the transitional mix. We’re all so used to white flour in our food that we kind of crave out gluten-free baked goods to be white as well. I understand. Try as I might, I could just never get behind a whole-grain pie crust. So I use this AP flour mix for pies, cakes, biscuits, and some cookies.

It’s easy to make. All you have to do is mix up the following, based on the ratio of 40 percent whole-grain flour to 60 percent starches and white flours.

400 grams millet flour
300 grams sweet rice flour
300 grams potato starch

Dump them all in a large container (we like the large plastic containers restaurants use to store their food, which we buy at restaurant supply stores) and shake. Shake and shake and shake harder until all the flours have become one color. There. That’s your flour. Whenever you want to bake, just reach for that container and measure out how many grams you need for that recipe.

Here’s one of the main reasons I write my recipes in weight. What do you do with this mix if you can’t do rice flour because of your rice allergy? Just substitute tapioca flour or arrowroot instead. You can’t find millet? Try sorghum for your whole-grain flour, or buckwheat.

We don’t think of this as OUR mix but yours. Make the mix that works for your, based on what flours you can eat, what you can find in your local store, or just what you have in the kitchen at the moment.

Think 40 percent whole-grain flour and 60 percent starches and white flours and you’ll have flour in your kitchen for all your baking needs.