Kanafeh/Künefe (Sweet Cheese Pastry)

Kanafeh (aka Kunafeh, aka Künefe, aka...) is a pastry that is common to countries in the Levant region including Turkey, Israel, Greece, etc. and and there are as many different ways of spelling it as there are of making it. It's commonly made with the shredded phyllo like pastry, with the same name as the final dish, and it is usually filled with a neutral, non-salty, stringy cheese and it is baked until the pastry gets nice and golden brown and crispy and it is then smothered in a simple syrup

Kanafeh/Künefe (Sweet Cheese Pastry)

A pastry consisting of hot cheese in between layers crispy shredded phyllo dough in a sweet syrup that is common in Greece, Turkey, Israel and many other countries in the area.

ingredients

• 1/2 pound shredded phyllo (called: kataifi or kunefe), thawed as directed on package
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
• 2 cups feta (soaked in water for an hour) or goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup simple syrup or 1/4 cup apple and/or pear sauce

directions

1. Break the pastry apart into one or two inch long pieces, separating the strands. (A few pulses of a food process helps with this.)
2. Mix the butter into the pastry with your hands in a large bowl until coated and press half of it into the bottom of a greased metal baking pan in a thin layer.
3. Pulse the cheeses in a food processor until the mixture reaches the consistency of a coarse meal and press it into the dough in the pan.
4. Press the remaining dough onto the cheese and bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
5. Serve warm covered in syrup or topped with apple and/or pear sauce.

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