RICOTTA BASIL PANCAKES
The best parts of breakfast (crispy bacon, pancakes…) made into a delicious savoury dinner. Paired with a fresh corn and tomato salsa, these ricotta basil pancakes are a unique, flavoursome meal.
Check out the recipe notes for substitutions if you can’t find avocado or fresh corn. You could easily make this meal vegetarian by removing the bacon – try slices of panfried haloumi instead. Smoked salmon is also a delicious option!
RICOTTA BASIL PANCAKES
The best parts of breakfast (crispy bacon, pancakes...) made into a delicious savoury dinner. Paired with a fresh corn and tomato salsa this is a fresh, flavoursome meal.
Ingredients
SALSA
- 2 ears fresh corn (or 400g / 14oz can corn kernels)
- 125 g cherry tomatoes (4.4oz)
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 small red onion
- Small handful basil leaves (roughly torn)
SAUCE
- 1/4 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt (60ml)
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 Tbsp aioli
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
PANCAKES
- 2 eggs
- 200 g ricotta cheese (7oz)
- 1 cup milk (250ml)
- 1 cup plain flour (150g / 5.3oz)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup chopped baby spinach (40g / 1.4oz)
- 1/3 cup chopped basil (10g / 0.4oz)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan (30g / 1oz)
- 2 tsp butter
- 250 g streaky bacon (8.8oz)
- Basil leaves and lemon wedges (to serve)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180ºC (375ºF) bake.
MAKE SALSA
Microwave corn in the husk for 4 minutes (if using fresh). Chop tomatoes in half, dice avocado and finely dice onion. De-husk the corn and remove kernels by running a knife vertically down the sides of the corn. Combine with tomatoes, avocado, onion and basil.
MAKE SAUCE
Whisk together the yoghurt, sour cream, aioli and mustard. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
PREPARE PANCAKE MIXTURE
Separate eggs, setting egg whites aside. Whisk together egg yolks, ricotta and milk. Add flour, baking powder, salt, spinach, basil and parmesan and season generously with cracked pepper. Stir gently to combine. Whisk egg whites with a fork until foamy, then gently fold into the pancake batter.
COOK
Lay bacon in a single layer on an oven tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, until crispy. Melt 1 teaspoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Drop 1/4 cup measures of pancake batter into the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, until bubbles start to form on top. Flip over and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and place on an oven rack set over an oven tray (helps prevent soggy pancakes). Repeat until batter is used up, adding extra butter to the pan if required. When you only have a couple of pancakes left to cook, place the tray of cooked pancakes in the oven for a few minutes to warm through.
SERVE
Serve pancakes topped with crispy bacon, salsa, a dollop of sour cream sauce, fresh basil and lemon.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: A crisp Sauvignon Blanc.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: Replace the plain flour with gluten free plain flour. Make sure your baking powder is gluten free. Alternatively, you can use gluten free self-raising flour.
INGREDIENT SWAP: If you can’t get fresh corn, canned whole corn kernels are a good replacement. Avocado really is the best with this meal, but if they’re too expensive at your local store you can try cooked edamame beans or peas instead.
STORING AND REHEATING: Package pancakes and bacon together, and salsa, sauce, extra basil and lemon wedges together. Reheat pancakes and bacon in the microwave before topping with the remaining ingredients.
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2 Comments
We absolutely loved these! They were full of flavour and beautifully light and fluffy, likely due to the egg white being whipped separately then gently folded through the pancake mixture. I made these with bacon which was delicious, and am looking forward to trying out panfried haloumi option next time. It’s great how Y.U.M has so many alternatives for each recipe and provides gluten free and vegetarian options as well. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Fantastic! Thank you for your kind comments Maddalena 🙂