Name: Baked Kataifi with Cream (Kneifi bi Kushta (knef-fee bee kush-ta))
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: 1½ cups half-and-half; ¼ cup farina (cream of wheat); 1½ tablespoons sugar; (You can substitute whole, reduced-fat, or fat-free milk in place of the half-and-half.); Clarified butter; kataifi shredded fillo dough (my favorite brand is Apollo); and zaher lamoon (sold as zaher jam or orange blossom jam, in specialty markets, or orange blossom jam online); you want the variety that actually has small candied petals.; ½ pound kataifi shredded fillo dough (room temperature); 1 teaspoon and ½ cup melted clarified butter (unsalted butter will do), divided; 1 cup syrup; 1 tablespoon zaher lamoon (garnish); 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 tablespoon ground pistachios (garnish)

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Lebanese Cuisine

By Kamal Al-Faqih

Published 2009

About

Two layers of crispy, shredded dough surround a warm cream center, then topped with candied flower petals and pistachios with a flavorful syrup drizzled over the individual servings. The traditional way of making the filling (kushta) is a process of skimming the thick skin that forms over cream after it has been simmering for a long period. No one really does this at home, though it is perhaps done at large markets in the Middle East that sell sweets. The cream used in this recipe is a tast