Bld's Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

I saw these pancakes featured on 2-3 different food/travel shows within a year...and knew I had to try them. They are from BLD restaurant in Los Angeles. The LA Times ran this recipe on 8/20/2008. Enjoy! I make home-made blueberry syrup to go with them...

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 16 pancakes

Ingredients

• 3  eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 3⁄4 cup ricotta cheese (dryer, large curd variety if can find)
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1⁄4 cups milk
• 1 3⁄4 cups flour
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1⁄2 pints blueberries

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and ricotta cheese so that there are no large lumps of cheese, but make sure the mixture does not become too smooth (this will make the pancakes wet and grainy). Whisk in the sugar, salt and vanilla, then the milk.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Fold this into the egg batter just until no lumps remain.
3. Separately, whip the egg whites to medium-stiff, shiny peaks, about 4 minutes. Gently fold these into the batter just until uniformly combined.
4. Ladle a generous one-fourth cup of batter onto a medium-hot, lightly greased griddle for each pancake.
5. Place 10 to 12 blueberries on each pancake and cook, about 2 minutes per side, until the cakes are goldenbrown and cooked through. Serve immediately with maple syrup on the side.