Knafeh (Crispy Shredded Pastry with Cheese)

Quick answer

Total time: 45 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

Shredded kataifi pastry is tossed in melted butter, pressed into a pan, layered with mozzarella cheese, and baked until the strands turn golden and shatteringly crisp.

The butter saturates every strand during baking, creating an intensely rich, crunchy base. Between the two layers of pastry, the cheese melts into a stretchy, creamy sheet that pulls apart in long strings when the dessert is cut. A syrup of sugar, water, and lemon juice, poured hot over the hot pastry, sinks into the crunchy layers almost instantly, glazing them with a sweet, barely tart coating that balances the cheese's mild salinity. Crushed pistachios scattered on top add a vivid green contrast and a firm, nutty bite that breaks up the otherwise uniform texture. The interplay of crunchy, stretchy, and syrupy in a single forkful is what makes knafeh distinctive. It must be served immediately; the pastry softens as it sits, and the contrast between crisp and molten fades.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

kataifi pastry250 gg

unsalted butter100 gg

mozzarella cheese220 gg

sugar120 gg

water120 mlml

lemon juice1 tsptsp

pistachios30 gg

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Season

Cut 250 g kataifi pastry into 2 to 3 cm strands with scissors.

Pour in 100 g melted unsalted butter, then separate and toss the strands by hand until no dry patches remain.
2

Step

Pat 220 g mozzarella lightly with paper towel so excess moisture does not make the base soggy.

Spread half the buttered kataifi evenly over the pan base and press it firmly with your palm.
3

Control

Scatter the cheese evenly, leaving about 1 cm clear around the edge to reduce leaking.

Cover with the remaining kataifi, then press across the surface so the cheese is enclosed without loose gaps.
4

Heat

Bake at 180C for 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove it when the top is deep golden and the edges look crisp and slightly lifted; if the pastry is still pale, bake 3 to 5 minutes longer.
5

Control

While it bakes, simmer 120 g sugar, 120 ml water, and 1 tsp lemon juice over medium heat.

Once the sugar dissolves, cook only 3 to 4 minutes more so the syrup stays pourable.
6

Prep

Pour the hot syrup evenly over the hot knafeh as soon as it leaves the oven, then let it stand for 1 minute.

Sprinkle with 30 g pistachios and cut while the cheese still stretches.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Kataifi strands toasted in butter crisp to a shattering shell in Knafeh, with hot syrup poured over at once.
Finish cue: Remove it when the top is deep golden and the edges look crisp and slightly lifted; if the pastry is still pale, bake 3 to 5 minutes longer.
Avoid this: Pat 220 g mozzarella lightly with paper towel so excess moisture does not make the base soggy.