To make the pancakes, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Add the buttermilk, egg yolks,and apple cider vinegar. Mix until evenly moistened.
Gently stir in ricotta cheese.
In a separate bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. With a flexible spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter just until they are incorporated.
Next, add the chocolate chips. Gently stir in to combine.
Place a large, nonstick frying pan over medium heat; when hot, coat lightly with butter.
Drop batter onto the pan and cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes.
Flip pancakes with a wide spatula and brown other sides, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Coat pan with more butter as necessary to cook remaining pancakes.
To make the bananas, melt butter in a medium skillet.
Stir in brown sugar, and let it cook, stirring as needed, until sugar melts.
Add bananas and pecans, if using.
Cook until golden, flip, and continue cooking until other side is also golden.