Shredded Pastry Rolls (Kataifi)

Cook: 30 min

Prep: 45 min

Makes: 18 rolls

 

Kataifi, a cousin of baklava, is a shredded fine-like pastry made with walnuts, pistachios or almonds

 

Syrup

1 1/2 cups water

1/8 cup lemon juice, fresh

1 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick of cinnamon

 

 

Suggest making the syrup a day ahead of making the baklavá or allow enough time for the syrup to thoroughly cool down. Combine water, honey, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon stick in a small sauce pan (1.5 quarts). Bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Discard cinnamon stick and securely cover syrup with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Bring syrup to room temperature two hours in advance of preparing the baklavá.

 

Kataifi Rolls

1/2-pound butter, melted

1-pound walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

1 egg, slightly beaten

1-pound kataifi pastry

In a large bowl, mix walnuts with sugar and cinnamon thoroughly combining all ingredients. Brush the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch pan with melted butter. Place walnuts, cinnamon, and egg in a large bowl, mix thoroughly. Gentle loosen and separate kataifi pastry with your fingers, laying out on large space. Cut into 18 pieces, about 4-6 inches length by 8 inches. Keep exposed kataifi moist with a damp towel. Place 1 tablespoon of nut mixture at one end of one of the kataifi pieces and roll it into a tube. Place in the pan. Pour one teaspoon of melted butter over each roll and bake at 4000F for 40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and pour room temperature syrup over hot kataifi rolls.


Notes:

1. According to The Olive the Caper by Sussana Hoffman page 507, pan size matters when making syrups.  It is best to use a 1 1/2 quart size sauce pan when making a syrup with honey or sugar. 1.5-quart saucepan is ideal for making sauces because it's straight sides, smaller surface area and compact size limits evaporation and allows for a better concentration of flavors


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spinach-filled Phyllo Squares (Spanakopita)

Image
Spanakopita  Ready to Eat Scored Spanakopita   B efore Baking S core spanakopita into  3 rows length-wise and 4 rows l ength-wise.  Preparing Pan with phyllo and spinach  Prepping Spanakopita with 10 layers of phyllo on bottom of the pan, spinach mixture in the middle and the start of phyllo layering on top of spinach.  The 9x14 inch phyllo fits exactly into a 9x14 inch pan , but that size pan is hard to find. Most pans around that size are 9x13 inches. There is a bit of overlap when layering the bottom layers, but it cooks together very nicely. However, the phyllo fits very nicely over the tops. Phyllo is very forgiving. If it breaks just layer it and add more butter. Spinach with feta, eggs and herbs         Spinach-filled Squares  (Spanakopita) Bake: 30-40 min Prep: 30 min Pieces: 12 This is a family-style spinach-filled phyllo made in a 9 by 13-inch pan and cut into squares. Ath...
Read more

Stuffed Grape Leaves - Appetizer style (dolmadákia)

Image
Stuffed Grape Leaves - Appetizer Style   (D olmad á kia ) Cook time: 1 hour Prep: 1 hour Makes: 75- 85 pieces   Dolmath á kia with the “akia” on the end of the word means “small one”. These stuffed grape leaves are made on the smaller side to be served as an appetizer hot or cold with a squeeze of lemon juice. Instead of using dried onion soup, you may use chopped onions, bunches of fresh mint and dill in the meat mixture. Check out the URL for a video and pictures of grape leave rolling techniques. The rice will not explode when cooked this way as long as you roll your grape leaves tightly around the meat mixture.     3 pounds 73% lean ground beef* Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup long grain white rice Water, about 1/4-1/2 cup 2 packages dried onion soup mix 1 16-ounce jar grape leaves 2 tablespoons dried mint 1 lemon, juiced ...
Read more

Baklava

Image
  Baklav a Bake: 45 min Prep: 45 hour min Makes: 4 dozen   Syrup (may prepare day in advance)   3 cups sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 1/2 cups water 1 stick cinnamon 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice     Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small sauce pan (1.5 quarts) stirring until dissolved. Add cinnamon stick, honey and lemon juice and occasionally stir on simmer for 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick, cover syrup and refrigerate overnight. Bring syrup to room temperature in advance of preparing the baklav a .   Baklav a   2 pounds walnuts, finely chopped 8 ounces unsalted butter, melted 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon 1 pound 13 by 17-inch phyllo, room temperature   In a large bowl, thoroughly mix walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Brush the b...
Read more