Künefe

Ingredients

• 400 g kataifi (shredded filo pastry), pulled apart into loose strands
• 120 g clarified butter (sadeyağ), softened to spreadable consistency
• 400 g Hatay peyniri (Antakya string cheese), unsalted or very lightly salted fresh cheese; pulled into thin strips
• For the syrup
• 300 g caster sugar
• 250 ml water
• 1 tsp rose water, added off the heat
• 1 pinch mastic (damla sakızı), ground fine in a little sugar
• To finish
• 40 g unsalted pistachios, finely crushed

Method

1. 1
   Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Add the ground mastic. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the syrup coats the back of a spoon lightly. Remove from the heat, stir in the rose water, and set aside to cool. The syrup should be at room temperature before it meets the hot pastry — warm syrup softens the kataifi rather than being absorbed cleanly.
2. 2
   Divide the kataifi strands into eight equal portions. Working with each portion in turn, rub softened clarified butter through the strands by hand, coating every thread. This direct contact between fat and fibre produces even browning across the whole surface; pouring butter over assembled pastry does not.
3. 3
   Place one buttered kataifi portion into an individual copper or steel pan (approximately 14–16 cm diameter). Press firmly with the palm, eliminating all air gaps and building an even layer of at least 1.5 cm thickness. The base must feel dense and compacted under the hand — loose packing will crisp unevenly and the structure will not hold when inverted.
4. 4
   Distribute one quarter of the Hatay peyniri strips evenly across the pressed base, leaving a 1 cm border clear at the edge. Lay the second buttered kataifi portion over the cheese and press again firmly to the same minimum 1.5 cm thickness, sealing the cheese layer completely within the pastry.
5. 5
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Set the pan directly over medium heat. Cook without moving for 4–6 minutes until the underside is deep golden and fully crunchy — lift one edge with a palette knife to check: the colour must be a uniform amber, not pale gold, not dark brown. Invert a second pan or flat plate over the top, flip the künefe in one confident motion, and return it to the heat to crisp the second side for a further 4–5 minutes. Both shells must be equally rigid; tap the surface — it should sound hollow and firm, not soft.
6. 6
   Remove from the heat. Immediately spoon cooled syrup over the surface — enough to moisten but not to pool; the kataifi should glisten and absorb the syrup within seconds without going limp. Excess syrup left standing in the pan means the pastry has been over-syruped.
7. 7
   Scatter crushed pistachios over the surface and bring the pan directly to the table. The künefe must be eaten within 3 minutes: pull through the pastry with a spoon to confirm the cheese interior is fully molten and draws into strings as the spoon lifts. At 5 minutes the cheese begins to set; the dish is no longer künefe.