Description
Luxurious Layers of Pistachio Knafeh is a Middle Eastern dessert made with golden kataifi pastry, creamy cheeses, and topped with pistachios, soaked in a rose-scented syrup.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound kataifi dough, thawed
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and clarified
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup sugar (divided)
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped pistachios
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a round 10–12 inch metal baking pan with melted butter.
- In a bowl, mix mozzarella, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons sugar until combined. In a separate bowl, toss kataifi dough with melted clarified butter until evenly coated.
- Press half of the kataifi into the bottom of the pan, forming a firm, even layer.
- Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with some of the chopped pistachios.
- Top with remaining kataifi, pressing gently to even out the surface.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes until the top is deeply golden and crisp.
- While baking, prepare the syrup: simmer water, remaining sugar, lemon juice, and rose water for 8–10 minutes. Let cool.
- Pour cool syrup over hot knafeh. Let rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with remaining pistachios and serve warm.
Notes
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 10g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
Keywords: Pistachio Knafeh, Middle Eastern dessert, kataifi pastry