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Καταϊφι

Kataifi (Almond and Walnut Pastry)

I’m not super into sweets, but I will do crazy things for a piece of bomb Kataifi. The crunchy texture of the buts and crispy pastry is everything.

Kataifi (Almond and Walnut Pastry)

Ingredients:

Syrup

  • 4 cups sugar
  • 2 ½ cups of water
  • Rinds of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Nut Mix

  • 1 cup of crushed walnuts
  • ½ cup of unflavored bread crumbs
  • 1 pound kataifi dough
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Prepare syrup first. Heat the water in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, lemon rinds, and honey. Stir to dissolve.
  3. Remove from the heat and set syrup aside to cool.
  4. Now, make the filling. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the filling and blend well.
  5. Open your packaged kataifi (make sure to have a damp kitchen cloth handy to keep the unused dough covered so it doesn’t dry out).
  6. Lay the long strip of dough out on a clean work surface and divide it into roughly 18 pieces - depending on your preferred size (each piece will create an individual roll).
  7. Spread apart the strands so they are no longer clumpy and thinned out.
  8. Take an individual piece (see photo) and add a tablespoon of nut mix to the bottom end. Begin to roll tightly tucking in any stray pieces of dough.
  9. Cover each piece with a tablespoon of vegetable oil or melted butter.
  10. Continue the process until your baking dish is filled. Cover with foil, bake for a half hour.
  11. Remove foil and bake for another half hour, until golden brown and crispy.
  12. Remove from oven and pour cooled syrup over the pastry. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let cool for a couple of hours so the kataifi absorbs all of the syrup.