Community Cookbook: Little Fino’s Sicilian Flapjacks 

Earlier this spring, Little Fino (111 N. 12th St.) opened on the ground floor of The William Vale, joining the hotel’s other restaurants from James Beard award-winning Chef Andrew Carmellini, Leuca and Westlight. 

Little Fino took over the front room and bar of Leuca, but defines itself as a completely different concept. The newcomer is inspired by Roman cafes and designed to effortlessly evolve from a relaxed daytime cafe to a lively evening haunt with Italian-leaning fare from Greenpoint native Chef Anthony Ricco, who grew up a few blocks away from The William Vale. 

For the newest addition to the Community Cookbook, Little Fino has shared its recipe for Sicilian Flapjacks. Learn how to make Little Fino’s Sicilian Flapjacks below and find the last Community Cookbook recipe here.

Little Fino’s Sicilian Flapjacks 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

For the pine nut butter:

1⁄2 cup of brown butter

1⁄2 cup of room temperature butter 

1⁄4 cup of pine nuts

1 teaspoon of sea salt 

For citrus maple syrup:

1 cup of local maple syrup

1 teaspoon of orange blossom water 

For flapjacks:

2 cups of self-rising all-purpose flour

2 whole eggs

1 cup of ricotta cheese

2 egg whites, whipped to medium peaks 

1⁄2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of milk

1⁄4 cup of granulated sugar

1 lemon, zested 

To finish the dish:

1⁄4 cup of powdered sugar

3 oranges, peeled and cut into individual segments 

Directions 

For the pine nut butter:

1. Brown 1⁄2 cup of butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. 
2. Once toasted and golden brown, add in the pine nuts and cook until fragrant, around three minutes. 
3. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then add to a blender and purée until smooth. 
4. Fold the blended brown butter into the room temperature butter and allow to chill in the refrigerator until firm. 

For citrus maple syrup:

5. Whisk together the orange blossom water and maple syrup until incorporated. 

For flapjacks:

6. Whip the egg whites until medium peaks have formed and set aside. 
7. Then, whisk the whole eggs, sugar, milk, and ricotta cheese in a stand mixer on medium speed for one minute, taking care not to blend the ricotta too finely. 
8. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl, then fold in the wet ingredients and lemon zest.
9. Next, gently fold in the whipped egg whites until the batter is light and fluffy. 
10. Pour a quarter cup of batter (per flapjack) onto a buttered griddle pan over medium heat and flip when bubbles form. 
11. Transfer flapjack stacks to serving plates and top with a scoop of the pine nut butter, six orange segments, dust generously with powdered sugar, and a heavy pour of the citrus maple syrup .