Crispy Cheese Pastry with Syrup — Knafeh Nabulsieh
Middle Eastern delicacy, shredded kataifi pastry layered over melting akkawi cheese, baked golden and drenched in orange blossom syrup.
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Combine 200g caster sugar, 140ml water, and 1 tsp lemon juice in a pan. Drain pre-soaked akkawi cheese, pat dry, slice into 5mm strips, combine with 100g grated mozzarella. Place 200g kataifi in a bowl, gently pull apart strands until loose. Chop 2 tbsp pistachios finely. Preheat oven to 200°C.
Simmer
Heat sugar mixture over medium heat 8–10 minutes until slightly thickened and syrup coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tsp orange blossom water and 0.5 tsp rose water. Cool completely.
Glaze
Stir 4 drops orange food colouring into 100g melted butter. Pour over loose kataifi strands, toss and rub between palms 2–3 minutes until every strand is evenly coated and orange-tinged.
Build
Press half the kataifi firmly into a 15cm round tin, packing hard with a spoon. Scatter cheese mixture evenly, stopping 1cm from edges. Cover with remaining kataifi, press down firmly.
Bake
Bake at 200°C for 25–30 minutes until deep golden and crisp on top, and cheese has melted through completely.
Invert and plate
Turn hot knafeh onto a serving plate. Immediately drizzle half the cooled syrup generously over the hot pastry so it soaks in. Scatter pistachios over and serve at once with extra syrup alongside.
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