Cottage Cheese and Yogurt Pancakes with Blackberry Compote

Pancakes are something you see across many cultures. The French have their crêpes; the Germans have their Pfannkuchen; and IHOPs have their endless stacks of buttermilk deliciousness. 


And me? I have my cottage cheese and yogurt pancakes. You see, I have nothing against a traditional stack of fluffy and floury pancakes. They're delicious. But they also tend to make me sleepy. And while that's not always a bad thing, some times you actually need to do something on the weekend.

These cottage cheese and yogurt pancakes? They're just the right combination of light, filling, creamy, and fluffy. What's not to love? Most importantly, they're easy!

Start out by preparing to make the blackberry compote. From 2 cups total fresh or frozen blackberries, take half of that (1 cup) and combine it in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons water, 1/4 cup sugar (or less), and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. 

Bring to a simmer over medium heat. After 8-10 minutes, put in the rest of the reserved blackberries and cook for about another 10 minutes. The first batch of blackberries should be cooked down quite well, and the reserved blackberries should still have kept their form. The liquid should be somewhat syrupy - more so after it cools. 

While this is all going on, you can prepare the batter. Beat together the cottage cheese, yogurt, and egg yolks.

In another prep bowl, combine the dry ingredients - the sugar, flour, and baking soda. 

In yet another prep bowl, take the separated egg whites and beat them until stiff but not dry. You'll want to use an electric beater or a stand mixer. I once saw someone beat egg whites by hand on Iron Chef: America. If you can do that, then congrats. It looked hard. 

Careful not to overbeat the egg whites. You want them fluffy but firm. When egg whites are overbeaten, they lose their airiness and smoothness. You should be able to swirl the beaten egg whites and get it to hold a peak. 

Now, stir the flour mixture into the cottage cheese mixture, blending well but not beating. 

Then, gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Try to make sure the egg whites remain somewhat distinct in the batter. This part is hard, and if you screw up, it'll still taste really good. So no worries. 

Don't forget to add the lemon zest! I almost did!

Take a skillet and heat it at medium-high heat for some pancake action. Check to see whether it's at the perfect temperature by flicking some water on the griddle. If the water dances across the pan, you're good to go. If it sits there before burning off, it's not hot enough. And if it just burns off, it's too hot. 

Brush the skillet or griddle with some butter or oil. When it's at the right temperature, add the batter by the heaping tablespoon. I find this usually comes out to about 1/4 of a cup. 

Cook until evenly browned on the bottom, 3-5 minutes. You can see that it's ready to turn when bubbles start to form on the top and the edges of the pancake begin to look a little cooked. Careful not to overcook these, as you want them to remain light and fluffy on the inside!

Once you flip them, cook them until the second side is lightly brown. Serve immediately; unlike regular pancakes, these won't hold in the oven. 

Arrange pancakes on a plate. Put some cooled compote on the pancakes. Serve with maple syrup and ....

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup plain yogurt (lowfat is fine)

3 eggs, separated

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all-purpose flour

Half a lemon, zested

Dash salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Butter or canola or other neutral oil as needed

Ingredients (Blackberry Compote)

2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

1/4 cup sugar (or less)

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons lemon juice

SERVES 3-4

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.