low carb lemon ricotta pancakes

[shannon_f_r]

I've been on a pancake kick lately, but I was getting kind of bored with the Protein Power Lifeplan version, which are basically just sour cream, eggs, soy protein powder, and olive oil. They're fine for a weekday morning, but I have a weekend breakfast reputation to maintain, despite my dietary quirks--and until I find my relatively inexpensive

Comments

[shannon_f_r]

I know what you mean, but it looks and tastes like a pancake. As with most things in this world, I guess what really matters is what you put in it and what you put on it. I wouldn't say the taste was identical--although it was quite good--but the form is definitely there. When you mix these ingredients together, they become a batter, and one batter is more or less like any other batter. I've also come across and used good recipes for crepes that use wheat gluten, eggs, and butter, and once you've wrapped something up in it, you can't tell that the egg taste predominates slightly more than it does in regular flour crepes. Once I get my waffle iron, I'm going to try a couple of different waffle batter recipes.

P.S. I seem to recall that you're doing something paleolithic or protein power-esque now, so if you have the Eades cookbook, don't bother with the whey pancakes. Those really don't taste or look like pancakes, and, at least to my palate, had a sour, iron-y aftertaste. If you haven't gotten their comfort food cookbook yet, I'd advise you not to bother. (Their original Protein Power Lifeplan is quite good, but it's the theory and the science, not the recipes.) Some of the recipes are okay, but you can find better stuff on the Internet. On the other hand, I looked at the Dana Carpender low carb cookbooks at Borders yesterday, and they seem excellent. Very simple recipes, too--I think she even has a "15 minute low carb recipes for working people"--from a broad range of cuisines, with a lot of suggestions about substitutions and where to get the more bizarre ingredients.

[circumfession]

Oddly enough, I think the essential ingredient in crepe/pancake-esque items is the egg, not the flour. The egg with bind almost anything, and you just need a powdery-not-fully-dissolved item to give it body and texture.

Shannon: have you tried using almond flour? (not ground almond meal...but rather the "stuff" that's left after the oil has been pressed out). It's apparently quite popular in low-carb baked goodies, and the mild almond taste is considerably preferable to a soy aftertaste.

[shannon_f_r]

I have tried almond flour, but it has a significantly higher carb count and therefore a higher glycemic index than the soy, so if the soy works well enough, I try to use it instead. I've also heard that there's a Bob's low carb baking mix (the ones that come in the somewhat pretentious looking packaging at Berkeley Bowl), but it seems only to be available online, and not with free Amazon prime, either. For things that are more baked good-like (muffins, etc.) I'll definitely use the almond flour, but in the ricotta pancakes, you can't even taste the soy next to the eggs, lemon extract, and lemon zest.

My crepe recipe is two eggs, 1/4 c. water, 2 tbs. heavy cream, 2 tbs. melted butter, and 2 tbs. vital wheat gluten, and a dash of salt for savory crepes or a packet of splenda for sweet ones. I put them in the food processor to get the wheat gluten worked in, let them sit for a half an hour, and then cook like normal crepes. Seems to work pretty well--they're thin and lighter than the flour ones, which I prefer anyway. Delicious with some sugar free jam and goat cheese.