Kataifi

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of kataifi dough, defrosted per package instructions
• 1/2 pound of butter, melted
• For the filling:
• 1 cup of walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup of almonds, coarsely ground
• 1/2 cup of fine granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon of brandy
• For the syrup:
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 1/4 cups of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
• thin strip of lemon peel
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon of thin honey

Preparation:

Prepare the syrup: Heat the water in a saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the lemon juice, peel, and cloves, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the honey. Remove from the heat, strain, and set aside to cool.In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the filling and blend well with a wooden spoon.A word about kataïfi doughThis dough comes commercially packaged in a long strip, about 3 inches wide. To prepare it for this recipe, lay the long strip out on a clean work surface and divide it into 18-24 pieces, gently spreading the strands out a bit if they clump together. Each piece will be used to create an individual kataïfi roll. Keep unused dough covered with a piece of waxed paper and a damp towel on top of that to keep it from drying out.Preheat oven to 350F (175C).Brush a strip with melted butter. Place a tablespoon of the filling at one end of the strip and roll up into a cylinder, tucking in any stray pieces of dough. Take care to roll the pastry tightly so that the filling is securely enclosed. Place the rolls seam side down in a lightly buttered baking dish, close together but not squashed, and brush well with remaining butter. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown and crispy looking. Remove from oven, pour cool syrup over the pastry and cover with a clean towel. Let cool about 3-4 hours as it absorbs the syrup.