Serves 4

I love cooking with ricotta because it is so versatile. Even though it is
low-fat, it still adds creaminess to both sweet and savoury dishes.

For the pancakes
4 eggs, separated
300g ricotta
200ml milk
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Large pinch of fine sea salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 ripe medium bananas, plus optional slices for serving
Icing sugar, for dusting

For the maple-pecan sauce
85g butter
50g toasted pecans, whole or lightly
crushed, whichever you prefer
200ml maple syrup

1 Put the egg yolks, ricotta and milk in a large mixing bowl and stir to
combine. Sieve in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix well with the
ricotta. Stir in the caster sugar.
2 Whisk the egg whites to a soft peak. Add a third of the egg whites to the ricotta mixture and stir in to loosen the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining
egg whites with a large metal spoon.
3 Peel and chop the bananas into cubes and gently stir into the mixture.
4 For the sauce: melt two-thirds of the butter in a pan and toss in the pecans for a minute. Pour in the syrup and bring to a boil. Let the mixture bubble for a minute, then remove from the heat.
5 Melt a knob of the remaining butter in a large frying pan. Add the batter
in small ladlefuls. (It is easier if you cook up to three at a time to avoid overcrowding the pan.) The pancakes are ready to turn over once they begin to bubble on top and are set on the bottom; this takes about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
6 Serve two to three pancakes per plate, layered with some sliced bananas,
if you like. Drizzle the warm maple-pecan sauce over the pancakes and then sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar. Serve immediately.