For this luscious sweet, you need to buy the soft, white vermicelli-like pastry called kadayif by the Turks and knafe by the Lebanese from a Turkish or Lebanese store. In Egypt we called it konafa. I saw this pastry being prepared in a large frying pan in a restaurant in Istanbul, but it is easier to bake it in the oven. It is scrumptious both hot and cold. I even like it days after, when the syrup has soaked and softened the pastry—it keeps well in the refrigerator. You can buy unsalted, shelled pistachios in the same stores as kadayif. In Turkey they use the cream called kaymak (see page 218) but clotted cream is a very good alternative.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 12
Ingredients
For the Syrup
Preparation
Step 1
Make the syrup first. Bring to the boil the sugar, water, and lemon juice and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then add the orange blossom water, if using. Let the syrup cool, then chill it in the refrigerator.
Step 2
Put the pastry in a large bowl and pull out and separate the strands as much as possible with your fingers. Pour the melted butter over them and work it in very thoroughly with your fingers, pulling out and separating the strands and turning them over so that they do not stick together and are entirely coated with butter.
Step 3
Spread the greased pastry all over the bottom of a large, round pie pan measuring 10 1/2 to 12 inches in diameter (or in two smaller pans). Press it down and flatten it with the palms of your hands. Bake it in an oven preheated to 350°F for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until it is golden. Then place the pan on the stove top over a medium flame and move it around for a moment or two so that the bottom of the pastry browns slightly.
Step 4
Run a sharp knife around the pan to loosen the sides of the pastry, and turn it out, bottom side up, onto a large serving dish. Pour the cold syrup all over the hot pastry.
Step 5
Spread the thick clotted cream all over the top and sprinkle generously with chopped pistachios.
Step 6
Alternatively, you can pour over only half the syrup before serving and pass the rest around in a jug for everyone to help themselves to more.
