Today time for a new dessert recipe. This time the recipe partly resembles our Greek dessert from a while back: Kataifi. After posting the dish on Reddit, I got so many responses. These responses ranged from this is not Kataifi or Kadaifi, but Knafeh. Because of these responses, I decided to publish a recipe about that amazing Middle Eastern dish. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to make Knafeh.
What is the definition of Knafeh
The meaning of Knafeh is:
”A traditional dessert that originates from the Middle East. This dessert is made with filo pastry, syrup and cheese. The topping consist of pistachio nuts”.
Künefe
Dit gerecht kent zoveel namen. Hieronder een aantal namen:
- Knafeh
- Künefe
- Kanafeh
- Kunāfa
De namen zijn anders en soms kan het recept ook iets anders zijn. Afhankelijk van de streek waar het gerecht gemaakt wordt. Het gerecht bestaat dus uit shredded filo pastry. Dit is hetzelfde pastry als je gebruikt bij Kataifi. Ook heb je een siroop die het gerecht de zoete smaak geeft. Als vulling heb je dit keer geen noten, maar kaas. In het recept wat onderaan deze pagina staat wordt gebruik gemaakt van ricotta cheese. Je kunt ook andere kazen proberen waaronder goat cheese of bijvoorbeeld mozzarella. Zorg ervoor dat het een kaas is die jij lekker vindt. De noten worden dit keer als topping gebruikt. Zo zijn het gebrande pistachio noten. Die geven het gerecht een mooie kleur en maken zo het dessert helemaal af.
Het gerecht is vooral popular in de Arabische wereld. Denk hierbij aan Turkije, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iran, Israel etc. Voordat we de ingredienten gaan beschrijven eerst nog een kleine toelichting op de oorsprong van het gerecht.
History dessert Kanafeh
Kanafeh, knafeh and Künefe are therefore the same. The story of the origin of this dish also has several stories. One of the stories is that this dish was prescribed by doctors during Ramadan. The goal of the doctors: satisfy hunger. This story must have taken place in Fatamid in Egypt. The second story says this happened in Syria. The dish was first described in the 10th century in Fatamid, Egypt.
The first Desserts recipe have been found in an Arabic and Persion recipe book from the 10th century. The name kanafeh or knafeh would be described years later. However, a recipe was described: qatayif, also called kadayif or kataifi. The dough was filled with nuts and then fried. The dessert was topped with syrup.
300 years later, the word kunafa was described as a type of crepes. You can serve the crepe with fresh cheese and topped with syrup. This is exactly the recipe that we will cover today. From the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the dish has spread to Iran, Greece and Turkey.
How to make Knafeh
When you order this dish from a food market you will see that the long strands of cheese run out. A great dessert, it’s time to briefly talk about the steps you need to take to make dessert. Below are the steps:
- Place a saucepan on medium heat. Add sugar, water, rose water and lemon juice to the pan.
- Mix everything together and bring the mixture to a boil. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
- If all the sugar is dissolved you can put the gas off.
- Take a bowl and add the kadayif dough together with melted butter.
- Mix everything together
- Spread the kadayif dough on a pan and press the dough into the pan. Add the cheese on top. It’s important to leave some room at the edges.
- Fry the knafeh until the bottom is golden brown. It’s time to Flip the knafeh.
- Before flipping add some butter to the pan. Fry the other side of the knafeh until golden brown.
- When the knafeh is on both sides golden brown. Turn the gas off and add the syrup.
- Add pieces of pistachios on top. You are ready to eat this amazing dessert!
Below you can find the ingredients.
Knafeh Ingredients
To make this fantastic dessert you need a couple of ingredients. These ingredients are: phyllo knafeh dough, unsalted butter, ricotta cheese, sugar, rose water, lemon juice and pistachios. You can find the recipe below. If you are interested in cooking videos you can watch my YouTube Channel!
Knafeh
Equipment
- Bowl
- Saucepan
- Baking Pan
Ingredients
- 340 grams Kataifi Dough
- 165 grams Unsalted Butter
Filling
- 285 grams Ricotta Cheese
Syrup
- 240 ml Water
- 100 grams Sugar
- 2 ml Rose Water
- 5 ml Lemon Juice
Topping
- 40 grams Pistachios
Instructions
- The first step is to grab a saucepan and put it on medium heat. Add the sugar, water, rose water and lemon juice.
- Mix everything together and bring the mixture to a bowl. Keep stirring so that all the sugar will dissolved.
- If all the sugar is dissolved you can put the heat off.
- Take a bowl and add the kadayif / kataifi dough together with the melted butter. Mix everything together.
- Spread the dough into a pan and press the dough. Make sure to leave 1 cm from the edges. Add the cheese on top.
- Fry the knafeh until the bottom is golden brown. It's time to Flip the knafeh.
- Before flipping add some butter to the pan. Fry the other side of the knafeh until golden brown
- When the knafeh is on both sides golden brown, turn the gas off and add the syrup.
- Add pieces of pistachios on top. You are ready to eat the Knafeh!
Video
Nutrition
FAQ Knafeh
Below you can find the most frequently asked questions:
What is Knafeh?
A traditional dessert that originates from the Middle East. This dessert is made with filo pastry, syrup and cheese. The topping consist of pistachio nuts.
Which ingredients do I need?
You need the following ingredients: shredded phyllo knafeh dough, unsalted butter, ricotta cheese, sugar, rose water, lemon juice and pistachios.
How long does it take to make?
The total time with preparation and cooking is 35 minutes.