Ricotta and banana pancakes

Today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, the first day of Lent for Christians around the world.

I remember as a child eating lots of pancakes at school on this day and wondering what it was all about. 'Why would Jesus eat pancakes,' I thought.

Now I'm celebrating Pancake Day with my own children, which is lovely, but makes me feel a little old too.

This recipe using ricotta and banana is excellent for fluffy and very tasty pancakes. I like to eat them hot out of the pan with some golden syrup drizzled over the top. Just delicious. Maybe these will be my sacrifice for Lent (or maybe not)!

What you'll need

2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 large bananas, chopped
250g smooth ricotta
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
pinch salt

Butter for the pan
Golden syrup to serve

What to do

In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs and milk until smooth. Pour into the dry ingredients. Mix until combined, the add the bananas and gently fold until the banana is incorporated.

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of butter to the pan and swirl it around until melted. Working quickly before the butter burns, add tablespoons-full of the mixture to the pan. Smooth out the mixture a little to make a nice round pancake shape. Cook until little bubbles appear (about 4 minutes). Once this happens, flip the pancakes and cook on the other side for about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan onto a plate, set aside and keep warm (or don't worry about the plate and eat it straight from the pan).

Wipe out the pan with some paper towel to remove any burnt bits of pancake and butter, then melt some more butter and cook your next batch of pancakes. Repeat until all the batter is used.

Drizzle over some golden syrup and serve while warm.