Lebanon · Lebanon

Knafeh

Name: Knafeh
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Lebanon
Ingredients: shredded kataifi pastry 300 g; melted unsalted butter 120 g; sweet akkawi or mozzarella cheese 350 g; sugar 200 g; water 120 ml; lemon juice 5 ml; rosewater 5 ml; orange blossom water 5 ml; shelled pistachios, chopped 25 g

Shredded phyllo pastry layered with sweet cheese, baked until golden and soaked in rose-and-orange blossom syrup.

50 minutes · 8 servings · Moderate

Knafeh is served hot, which changes how it is meant to be eaten. The cheese is pulled toward the syrup rather than the other way round, so the sequence is spoon, then hot cheese, then syrup over both. It is a street dessert that arrives in a paper tray with its own set of local rules about which cheese and which syrup.

Ingredients

shredded kataifi pastry300 g
melted unsalted butter120 g
sweet akkawi or mozzarella cheese350 g
sugar200 g
water120 ml
lemon juice5 ml
rosewater5 ml
orange blossom water5 ml
shelled pistachios, chopped25 g

Directions

1
Simmer sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, then stir in lemon juice, rosewater and orange blossom water and cool.
Syrup is clear and lightly thickened.
2
Toss the kataifi strands with most of the melted butter until evenly coated.
Every strand glistens with butter.
3
Press half the buttered pastry into a buttered pan, top with the cheese, then cover with the remaining pastry.
Cheese layer is fully covered by pastry.
4
Bake until the pastry is deep golden and the cheese has melted, then pour the cooled syrup over the hot pastry.
Pastry is deep golden and cheese bubbles at the edges. Heat cheese until it is fully melted and bubbling.
5
Rest briefly, scatter pistachios and cut into squares to serve.
Syrup has soaked through and the surface is glossy. Refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours at 4°C or below; consume within 24 hours.

Source: WorldBite Editorial · WorldBite Proprietary Editorial Content