Künefe
künefe / كنافة (knafeh), Hatay, and across the Levant; Nablus claims the original
Molten cheese is the filling of this dessert, fried between layers of shredded pastry and drowned in lemon syrup. You eat it scalding hot, specifically so the cheese still pulls in strings.
The cheese is unsalted or desalted, so melted it reads as pure milky stretch, closer to a custard layer than to anything savory. The kataifi fries in butter into a crisp, wiry crust that holds its crunch even under syrup, and the lemon keeps all that sugar from turning cloying. Hot, it is crackle, pull, and perfume in one bite.
Knafeh is claimed across the eastern Mediterranean, with origin legends reaching back to medieval caliphs, though food historians note the cheese-filled version only shows up in records from the 19th century, first in an 1885 Beirut cookbook. Nablus in Palestine is its modern capital, where knafeh nabulseyeh made with local nabulsi cheese has been called a Palestinian institution, cooked on huge trays and dyed its signature orange.
In Turkey the dish belongs to Hatay province, where Antakya künefesi holds EU protected geographical indication status, granted in 2012. Künefe shops there build individual copper trays over coals, flip them to order, and serve the disc hissing with syrup, usually after a kebab dinner. Wherever you eat it, the rule is the same: it goes from pan to mouth in minutes.
Ingredients
- 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugarfor the syrup
- 100ml (7 tbsp) waterfor the syrup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 200g (7 oz) kataifi (shredded phyllo)half a standard 400g package, thawed overnight in the fridge if frozen
- 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, meltedplus a little extra for the pan
- 250g (9 oz) fresh mozzarellalow salt, sliced thin and patted very dry; or akkawi soaked in several changes of cold water ahead of time
- 2 tbsp pistachios, finely choppedunsalted
Method
- Make the syrup first: bring the sugar and water to a boil, simmer about 8 minutes until slightly thickened, stir in the lemon juice, and set aside to cool. It must be at room temperature when it meets the hot pastry.
- Slice the mozzarella thin and press it between paper towels; wet cheese makes a soggy künefe.
- Chop the kataifi into pieces about 2cm (3/4 inch) long, then toss it in a bowl with the melted butter until every strand is coated.
- Butter a 24cm (9 to 10 inch) heavy skillet and press half the kataifi firmly into an even layer; the harder you pack it, the crisper it fries.
- Lay the cheese over the pastry, leaving a 1cm border bare so it does not leak and burn.
- Cover with the remaining kataifi and press down hard with a spatula to compact the whole disc.
- Cook over medium heat, dropping to medium-low once the pan is hot, for 8 to 10 minutes, lifting an edge to check; the underside should be deep golden brown.
- Flip it: invert the künefe onto a large plate, then slide it back into the pan raw side down and cook another 6 to 8 minutes until golden.
- Off the heat, pour about three quarters of the cooled syrup evenly over the hot künefe and let it hiss and soak for a minute. Scatter the pistachios, cut into wedges, and serve immediately with the rest of the syrup alongside.
Cooked it? Say how it went. Tweaks, substitutions, honest verdicts, all welcome.
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