Kataifi with Cream Filling
Osmaliyah has been known for generations in my family in Egypt as konafa and I have featured it before. I include it here again because, of all the Lebanese pastries that are good to make at home and to serve at a dinner party, this is one of the best; it is my mother’s recipe. It is meant to be served hot but it is also good cold. You can buy the soft white vermicelli-like dough frozen in Lebanese, Turkish, and Greek stores. In Lebanon, it is called knafe but in America it is sold by its Greek name, kataifi, usually in 1-pound packages; it should be defrosted for 2 to 3 hours. The quantities below will make one large pastry to serve 10, but you can also make two half the size—one to serve fewer people and one to put in the freezer to bake at a later date. It freezes well uncooked.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 10
Ingredients
For the Syrup
For the Cream Filling
For the Pastry
Preparation
Step 1
Make the syrup first. Boil the sugar with the water and lemon juice over low heat for 5 to 8 minutes, until it is just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Another way to test it is to pour a drop onto a cold plate, and if it does not spread out like water, it is ready. Stir in the orange blossom water and cook a moment more. Let it cool and then chill in the refrigerator. (If you have overcooked the syrup and it becomes too thick to pour when it is cold, you can rescue it by adding a little water and bringing it to the boil again.)
Step 2
For the filling, mix the rice flour with enough of the cold milk to make a smooth, creamy paste. Bring the rest of the milk with the cream to the boil, preferably in a nonstick pan (this stops the cream sticking at the bottom and burning). Add the rice flour paste, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Leave it on very low heat and continue to stir constantly for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mixture is quite thick, being careful not to scrape any burnt bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add the cream and sugar and stir well.
Step 3
Put the kataifi pastry in a large bowl. With your fingers, pull out and separate the strands as much as possible. Melt the butter and when it has cooled slightly, pour it over the pastry and work it in very thoroughly with your fingers, pulling out and separating the strands and turning them over so that they do not stick together and are entirely coated with butter.
Step 4
Spread half the pastry on the bottom of a large round pie pan, measuring 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Spread the cream filling over it evenly and cover with the rest of the pastry. Press down firmly and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F for about 45 minutes. Some like to brown the bottom, which comes out on top when the pastry is turned out, by running it over heat on the stove top for a brief moment only. Others prefer the pastry to remain pale.
Step 5
Just before serving, run a sharp knife around the edges of the osmaliyah to loosen the sides, and turn it out onto a large serving dish. Pour the cold syrup all over the hot pastry and sprinkle the top lavishly with the chopped pistachios.
Step 6
Alternatively, you can pour only half the syrup over the pastry and pass the rest around in a jug for everyone to help themselves to more, if they wish.
