I am a cheater. And I don’t care.
Growing up, my Mom always bought Aunt Jemima buttermilk pancake mix. I loved those pancakes and I felt no shame about it. Why would I? I was kid who wanted to pour syrup over a huge stack of fluffy pancakes. As I got older, I started to work in kitchens, attended culinary school and continued on the path of becoming a professional chef. My feelings about pancake mix had changed. I stuck my nose up at that pancake mix. For shame. A culinary student using pancake mix! So as any culinarian would do, I started making my pancakes from scratch. And to be honest they’re not difficult to make, so why even bother with the mix?
Fast forward five years later. I’m sitting at my friend’s house and we are debating what to cook for breakfast. She whips out Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix and smiles at me. “This mix is the best,” she tells me. What? Mix? Hells to the no. I used to cook professionally, I can’t possibly use mix. I opened her cupboard to find flour, baking powder and sugar. No baking powder. Only brown sugar. Shit.
Fine, fine. Give me the stupid mix. I flipped the package over to inspect the ingredients (and quickly read the directions). Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix includes whole grain wheat, corn, rye, oat, millet, barley, soybeans, brown rice, triticale and flax seeds. Damn that’s a lot of grains.
So I make the pancakes according to “Bob’s directions.” Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and fold in the egg whites. Done and done. I stared into the bowl. Is this it? Have I sunk so low as to make pancakes from a mix?
I opened the fridge looking for something to comfort my sorrows when I noticed a tub of ricotta cheese. That’s it! I will not make pancakes from a mix but Multigrain Ricotta Pancakes. So I plopped in a cup of ricotta and mixed away. I cooked up the pancakes and they were kickass. They were nutty from the grains, rich and custardy from the ricotta and the “berry syrup” added a nice sweetness and tang. As I shoveled the fluffy pancakes in my mouth I didn’t care that they were from a mix. I just knew that they were as delicious as hell.
Make these pancakes. Add the ricotta or don’t. I’m not going to apologize or make excuses. This mix is awesome. I wasn’t paid by Bob’s Red Mill and they didn’t donate any products. I simply just like it and yes, these pancakes taste just as good, if not better than the real thing.
Kickass Multigrain Ricotta Pancakes. That is all.
- 1 cup [url href=”http://www.bobsredmill.com/10-grain_pancake-mix.html?&cat=”]Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix[/url]
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta
- 1 whole egg, separated
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup berry jam (flavor and brand of your choice)
- In a large bowl combine [url href=”http://www.bobsredmill.com/10-grain_pancake-mix.html?&cat=”]Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake Mix[/url], ricotta, egg yolk and water.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks are formed.
- Fold the egg white into the pancake mixture until thoroughly combined.
- Heat a large pan or griddle over medium-low to medium heat.
- Add 1 tbsp of butter and allow it to melt and slightly bubble.
- Pour 1/4 cup of pancake mix on the griddle/pan for each pancake.
- Cook until the pancake begins to bubble around in the edges and in the center. Flip over the pancake and cook on the other side until, about a few minutes. You may need to add more butter in between each batch of pancakes.*
- While the pancakes are cooking in a small pot, combine 1/2 cup of berry jam and a 1/4 cup of water. Bring the pot to a simmer. You want the jam to become syrup-like in consistency. Keep warm and pour over pancakes for serving.
- *Please note these pancakes will take longer to cook than your “average” pancake and will be more dense and “custardy” because of the ricotta.
