Kunafeh pastry looks like shredded wheat or fine vermicelli and it is sold in 450 g (1 lb) packets under the name of kadayifi fila. Kadayifi is the Greek name of this sweet – in Turkish it is known as Tel-kadayif, but both are misnomers derived from the Arab word for pancake ataif. In most Middle Eastern households even today kunafeh pastry is still made at home by the time-honoured process of passing a batter of flour and water through a brass-plated sieve on to a hot metal sheet. The dough sets in seconds and the shredded pastry is swept to one side.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) kadayifi pastry
- ¾ lb (350 g) unsalted butter, melted and with the froth removed
Filling
- 6 oz (175 g) chopped or coarsely ground walnuts
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Syrup
- ¾ lb (350 g) sugar
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons rosewater
How to Make It
- First prepare the syrup. Place the sugar, lemon juice and 350 ml (12 fl oz) water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the syrup forms a slightly sticky film on a spoon. Remove from the heat, stir in the rosewater and set aside to cool.
- Lightly brush a baking tin about 30 × 23 cm (12 × 9 in) or about 25 cm (10 in) in diameter and at least 2.5 cm (1 in) deep, with a little of the melted butter. Put the pastry into a large bowl and gently ease apart the strands without breaking them. Remove any hard nodules of pastry which you may find in some brands.
- Pour three-quarters of the melted butter into the bowl and gently rub all the strands between your fingers until they are well coated with the butter.
- Divide the pastry into 2 equal parts and spread 1 part evenly over the base of the tin. Mix the filling ingredients together and spread evenly over the pastry.
- Press the filling down firmly. Arrange the remaining pastry evenly over the top, tuck in any strands hanging over the sides and press the pastry down firmly.
- Spoon the remaining melted butter evenly over the top, discarding the white residue in the bottom of the pan.
- Place in an oven preheated to 180C (350F) gas 4 and cook for ½ hour.
- Lower the heat to 150C (300F) gas 2 and cook for a further 1½ hours or until golden. Remove from the oven and pour the syrup slowly over the kunafeh, covering as much of the surface as possible. Cover with silver foil, place a heavy board over the top and add a heavy weight in order to flatten the kunafeh. Leave to cool and then cut into squares or lozenges 3.5-5 cm (1½-2 in) in size.