Post by Amani on Dec 12, 2007 0:25:00 GMT -5
Künefe with Champagne-Cardamom Syrup
from "Spice" by Ana Sortun
Künefe is a dessert that is made with shredded filo dough (called kadafi) and filled with a sweet cheese. It's baked until golden and crispy and soaked in a sweet syrup, often scented with rose water. I had tasted several different künefes in the United States, but I finally understood what is so special about this dessert when I ordered one at a meat restaurant called Hamdi, in Istanbul, next to the Egyptian Baazar. Hamdi's künefe was the best, sweet, caramely, hot, crunchy, toasted cheesecake I had ever tasted. Hamdi used just the right amount of syrup, and the künefe was thin, crisp, and golden brown, with a sweet cheese center. In Turkey, they serve künefe with kaymak--a cream so thick that you can practically cut it--made from buffalo milk.
Maura Kilpatrick, who has been Oleana's pastry chef from the day we opened (and whose skills leave me speechless), makes this version of künefe. Maura flavors the syrup with a brilliant cardamom-spiked champagne, and she tops the warm, crispy cheesecake with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and crushed, toasted pistachios.
1/2 package shredded filo, also called kadafi
10 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, grated
1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup whole green cardamom pods
2 bottles sparkling wine, such as prosecco
1/2 cup sugar
2 lemons, zested, juiced, and seeds removed
1/2 cup pistachios
8 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place the filo in a food processor and chop finely.
3. Add the butter and milk to the filo and line an 8-inch-square heavy baking dish with half of this mixture.
4. Mix the mozzarella cheese and nutmeg. Spread this mixture onto the shredded filo. Top with the remaining shredded pastry mixture. Press the mixture with your hands, so that it becomes compressed.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in the oven.
6. Meanwhile, crush the cardamom by placing the pods in a plastic bag and pounding them lightly with a rolling pin until the pods open and you see the black, oily seeds.
7. Combine the crushed pods, champagne, and sugar in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
8. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes, until it is thick and syrupy and is reduced by about 1/3 (so that you have 3 cups left). Strain through a fine sieve.
9. When the pastry comes out of the oven, ladle 2 cups of the syrup, little by little, over the künefe until it's soaked.
10. Cut the künefe into slices and serve it immediately while it is still warm. Sprinkle each slice with pistachios, spoon on a dollop of mascarpone cheese, and let guests add the remaining syrup if they want more sweetness.
Serves 8.
from "Spice" by Ana Sortun
Künefe is a dessert that is made with shredded filo dough (called kadafi) and filled with a sweet cheese. It's baked until golden and crispy and soaked in a sweet syrup, often scented with rose water. I had tasted several different künefes in the United States, but I finally understood what is so special about this dessert when I ordered one at a meat restaurant called Hamdi, in Istanbul, next to the Egyptian Baazar. Hamdi's künefe was the best, sweet, caramely, hot, crunchy, toasted cheesecake I had ever tasted. Hamdi used just the right amount of syrup, and the künefe was thin, crisp, and golden brown, with a sweet cheese center. In Turkey, they serve künefe with kaymak--a cream so thick that you can practically cut it--made from buffalo milk.
Maura Kilpatrick, who has been Oleana's pastry chef from the day we opened (and whose skills leave me speechless), makes this version of künefe. Maura flavors the syrup with a brilliant cardamom-spiked champagne, and she tops the warm, crispy cheesecake with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and crushed, toasted pistachios.
1/2 package shredded filo, also called kadafi
10 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 pound fresh buffalo mozzarella, grated
1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup whole green cardamom pods
2 bottles sparkling wine, such as prosecco
1/2 cup sugar
2 lemons, zested, juiced, and seeds removed
1/2 cup pistachios
8 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place the filo in a food processor and chop finely.
3. Add the butter and milk to the filo and line an 8-inch-square heavy baking dish with half of this mixture.
4. Mix the mozzarella cheese and nutmeg. Spread this mixture onto the shredded filo. Top with the remaining shredded pastry mixture. Press the mixture with your hands, so that it becomes compressed.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in the oven.
6. Meanwhile, crush the cardamom by placing the pods in a plastic bag and pounding them lightly with a rolling pin until the pods open and you see the black, oily seeds.
7. Combine the crushed pods, champagne, and sugar in a medium-large saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
8. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the mixture for about 30 minutes, until it is thick and syrupy and is reduced by about 1/3 (so that you have 3 cups left). Strain through a fine sieve.
9. When the pastry comes out of the oven, ladle 2 cups of the syrup, little by little, over the künefe until it's soaked.
10. Cut the künefe into slices and serve it immediately while it is still warm. Sprinkle each slice with pistachios, spoon on a dollop of mascarpone cheese, and let guests add the remaining syrup if they want more sweetness.
Serves 8.