A great Levantine dessert served hot, consisting of a crisp crust of kadaïf dough in clarified butter, a molten and mildly salted cheese center, then generously soaked in orange blossom-scented syrup and garnished with pistachios.
Ingredients
- 200 g fresh kadaïf dough
- 300 g akkawi cheese
- 80 g clarified butter
- 140 g granulated white sugar
- 90 ml water
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp orange blossom water
- 25 g unsalted shelled pistachios
Method
- Start with the syrup so that it is perfectly cold at serving time. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan, then heat gently, stirring only until the sugar dissolves.
- Bring to a simmer and let cook without stirring until you have a syrup that is slightly syrupy but still fluid. Add the lemon juice, cook briefly, then remove from the heat.
- Stir in the orange blossom water off the heat. Transfer the syrup to a container and let it cool completely.
- Slice the akkawi cheese, cover it with cold water, and let it soak to remove the salt. Change the water several times, then taste a small piece: it should remain milky and very lightly salted, without being aggressive.
- Thoroughly drain the cheese, press it between several sheets of paper towel, then crumble it roughly. This step is essential, as a moist cheese would soften the crust.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C on the conventional setting. Generously brush the bottom and sides of a 24 cm round metal pan with some of the clarified butter.
- Separate the kadaïf strands with your fingers, then chop them roughly so you have short pieces that are easy to distribute. Pour in the remaining clarified butter and work it in thoroughly with your fingertips until all the strands are evenly coated.
- Distribute about two-thirds of the kadaïf in the pan. Press it firmly with the bottom of a glass to form a compact, even layer that comes slightly up the sides.
- Spread the soaked cheese over the crust, leaving a small bare border. Distribute the remaining kadaïf on top and pack it down gently, without overly compressing the cheese.
- Bake in the lower part of the oven until the edges are deeply golden and the bottom forms a firm crust. If the top browns too quickly, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Remove the knafeh from the oven, wait a few moments, then place a slightly larger serving platter over the pan. Invert the whole thing in one smooth motion and carefully remove the pan.
- Gradually pour the cold syrup over the still-hot knafeh, focusing on the entire surface rather than just the center. Wait a few minutes so the syrup is absorbed while retaining the crispy crust.
- Crush the pistachios fairly finely and scatter them on top. Cut immediately into six equal slices and serve hot, while the cheese is still soft and stringy.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 473.4 kcal
- Protein
- 13.71 g
- Carbohydrate
- 44.63 g
- Fat
- 27.36 g
- Fibre
- 1.11 g
- Calcium
- 318.54 mg
- Iron
- 0.33 mg
- Magnesium
- 19.83 mg
