Basil Chocolate Chip Ricotta Pancakes at Home

When I think of basil and chocolate I think of Oprah.

Hold on I’ll explain.

I’m sure a lot of you are Oprah fans, so does anyone remember the episode when Giada De Laurentiis was on and she whipped up a chocolate, basil and brie panini? Oprah clearly didn’t like it, it was written all over her face. The audience received samples and even they weren’t impressed. AWKWARD! Something tells me it was the cheese that ruined it all! But that show always stuck with me… I wasn’t sure why it did until this morning.

Well the other night my Mom gave me a big zip-lock baggie of fresh basil from her garden and my first thought was that I’d make some pesto. Then I thought again of how many pesto recipes there are in the world and my mind went back to that Oprah episode I saw years back. And then my mind went to pancakes. I’ve never had a recipe pop into my head so quickly. So I jotted down the gist of it, tossed back a few cups of coffee and then set off for my kitchen to scour down the ingredients and get my cookin’ on.

I like using whole wheat flour in pancakes kinda gives the pancakes some depth.

Grab about 10-12 basil leaves; stack, roll and chiffonade (or slice thin strips) then give it all a good chop. My girls were all “Yay Pancakes!!” and then they said “What’s the basil for?” and with a huge enthusiastic smile I told them “We’re having basil & chocolate chip pancakes! “I quickly saw their smiles fade into what I can only explain as puzzled frowns of disappointment? For them (and most people) basil = Italian pasta dishes, so they couldn’t even fathom. To be honest I was a bit nervous, and yet strangely confident that this dish was going to be a success… it had to work… I wasn’t sure how or why… but it only had to.

Place both the flours in to a mesh strainer over a large bowl.

Add in the light brown sugar, baking soda and kosher salt.

Sift all the dry ingredients in to the large bowl.

This is why I sift everything… besides it makes the dry ingredients light and airy, and it also eliminates those rock-hard sugar pieces. All at the same time! 😉

In a separate bowl with the ricotta; add in one large egg, 3 tablespoons of melted {not hot} butter, and 3/4 cup whole milk. My container of ricotta had the liquid already settled on the bottom. But if yours is pretty wet you might want to try straining it over a bowl to catch the excess liquids. Using ricotta cheese in a pancake recipe will keep them pancakes light and delicate!

Whisk until everything is combined.

Next add the wet ingredients into the dry…

And mix only until everything is incorporated.

Lastly toss in the mini chocolate chips and the chopped basil. Chocolate pairs wonderfully with basil… but if basil isn’t your thing then try some fresh grated orange zest along with a pinch of cinnamon. But I highly recommend trying the basil; it’s a fresh and familiar flavor that truly brightens up these pancakes.

Once everything is combined, measure out 1/4 cup of the pancake batter.

Then on a lightly oiled, preheated griddle add about a 1/4 cup of batter. I use the measuring cup to smooth and spread the pancake batter out a tad.

Flip when golden. Carefully. Oops!

Which is about 2-3 minutes per side. That’s much better.

Top with butter…

Lots of butter.

And of course, real maple syrup.

And go to town! The instant the forkful of pancake dripping with butter and maple syrup hit my lips I knew the risk paid off and I simply achieved a tasty triumph! Who would’ve thought an episode of Oprah could inspire such culinary success? So get out your steno and jot this one down, it’s gonna knock your socks off!

Enjoy! And if you give this Basil Chocolate Chip Ricotta Pancakes recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!