lemon ricotta pancakes

A few Mondays ago for my weekly dinner, I made SK's lemon ricotta pancakes with sauteed apples along with scrambled eggs and cyrene cheese. My roommates liked the pancakes; I found them too different of a texture from normal pancakes to really wrap my brain around them. They are light and fluffy from the whipped egg whites, and the resulting texture is a foamy batter. The taste is also a little different, unsurprisingly, due to the ricotta cheese and lemon zest. All in all, they were good, but I think I will stick to more traditional pancakes. What can I say, my dad made great breakfast food and it's hard for me to break my strong associations with his dishes. The sauteed apples were delicious, though, and I would definitely make them again to go with ice cream or other pancakes or anything you might want to eat sauteed apples with. We kept leftover apples in the fridge and continued to eat them for a couple days.

For the sauteed apples
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced - this is a surprising amount of apples, use a large pan
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon - I added more because I really like a solid cinnamon flavor to my apples
fresh lemon juice to taste

For the pancakes
4 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups ricotta
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Melted butter for brushing the griddle

Maple syrup, as an accompaniment - I didn't have any because it isn't available here, but I think it would have been quite delicious, so I recommend it.

Prepare the sauteed apples:
In a large heavy skillet, saute the apples in the butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until they are softened, sprinkle them with the sugar and the cinnamon, and cook them over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender. My apples took significantly longer to cook, so I alternated having a lid over the middle and stirring them around to get them more moist and tender. Stir in the lemon juice and keep the mixture warm.

Make the pancakes:
In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, the ricotta, the sugar, and the zest, add the flour, and stir the mixture until it is just combined. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks, whisk about one fourth of them into the ricotta mixture, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Heat a griddle over moderately high heat (Deb firmly believes that pancakes should be cooked medium-low) until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface and brush it with some of the melted butter. Working in batches, pour the batter onto the griddle by 1/4-cup measures and cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden, brushing the griddle with some of the melted butter as necessary. Keep them warm in a preheated oven.