Künefe – Turkish angel hair dessert

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 350 g noodles (kadayif), fresh angel hair noodles
• 250g mozzarella
• 150 g sugar
• 150 ml water
• 1 lemon(s), juice
• 120 g butter
• 25 g pistachios, green, unsalted

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

extraordinary and delicious

Künefe probably originated in the Ottoman Empire. In the Arab world, it is known and popular under the name Kunafa. The main ingredient, Kadayif, often translated as angel hair noodles, must be purchased in Turkish or Arabic grocery stores—German vermicelli is no substitute. You can find fresh Kadayif noodles in the refrigerated section. They are also available pre-baked and dried, but I would advise against this with Künefe. The Dil Peyniri, a white, unsalted cheese, which is also required, is hard to find here in Germany, but can easily be replaced with cow’s milk mozzarella. When soaked, it comes very close to the original and even adds a delicious, light saltiness that counters the sugar syrup. Just don’t be overambitious and use buffalo mozzarella, which is usually far too moist! Künefe should be eaten fresh from the oven; once the sugar syrup is on it, it can’t be reheated without turning into mush. The syrup shouldn’t be hot when pouring it over the pasta, otherwise the fine, crispy texture of the pasta will also turn into a bland, uninteresting dough. First, I soak the mozzarella balls in cold water for about 30 minutes to reduce their salt content. I put the pistachios in a mortar and grind them finely until they are bright green. I remove the kadayif pasta from the package, open it slightly to form a flat layer, and place it in a damp kitchen towel for about 15 minutes to make it soft and flexible. I preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Then I put the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan, bring everything to a boil, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Then I remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool; room temperature is fine. I remove the mozzarella from the water bath and cut it into 2-3 mm wide slices. I generously brush the pizza pan, approximately 26 cm in diameter, with butter. You can’t skimp on this! Once the kadayif is soft, I carefully pull it apart and cut it into pieces about 2-3 cm long. Professional kunefe bakers cut the noodles even shorter because the result looks neater. I think that’s a shame, though, because the structure of the fine noodles is lost, and that’s the real thrill of this dessert. I knead the cut noodles with about 100 g of softened butter. I then place half of the noodles in the pizza pan and press them down firmly. The mozzarella slices are then added until the noodles are covered. Then the rest of the kadayif noodles are placed in an even layer on top and also pressed down flat. Finally, I spread a few knobs of butter over the pasta cake and place the baking sheet on the floor of the oven for about 20 minutes so that the pasta on the bottom toasts until golden brown. When the time is up, I take the baking sheet out of the oven and carefully remove the cake from the pizza tray using a spatula. Once the base is golden brown, I turn the kunefe out using a large plate or another pizza tray and bake it for about another 15 minutes. The kunefe should then be golden brown and slowly turning dark around the edges. Then I take the hot kunefe out of the oven and drizzle the sugar syrup over it in a thin stream. Then everything should rest for about 2 minutes to marinate. Now I cut small squares or use a cookie cutter to cut out round pieces from the kunefe, scatter the ground pistachios on the pieces, and serve everything while the cheese is still hot and melted.