← Nouns Cooking · Greek

Ingredients

• 400 g Sugar
• 400 ml Water
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 400 g kataifi pastry, thawed
• 180 g butter, melted
• 900 ml whole milk
• 150 g Sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs
• 90 g Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 20 g Butter
• 500 ml cold whipping or double cream
• 3 tbsp Icing sugar
• 40 g Pistachios, chopped
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

Method

1. Simmer the sugar, water and cinnamon stick for 5 min, stir in the lemon juice and leave to cool completely.
2. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Pull the kataifi strands apart with your fingers so they are fluffy, spread them evenly in a 23 × 33 cm dish and pour the melted butter all over. Bake for 30–35 min until crisp and golden.
3. Ladle the cold syrup over the hot kataifi straight from the oven and leave it to cool and soak.
4. For the custard, heat the milk until steaming. In a bowl, whisk the yolks, eggs, sugar and cornflour until smooth, then whisk in a ladle of hot milk. Pour it all back into the pan and whisk over medium heat for 5–6 min until very thick and bubbling. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla and butter.
5. Spread the warm custard over the cooled kataifi, press cling film onto the surface and chill for at least 4 hours, until set.
6. Whip the cream with the icing sugar to soft peaks, spread it over the custard and finish with pistachios and a pinch of cinnamon. Cut into squares with a sharp knife.

Tips

• Contains nuts (pistachios), eggs, dairy and gluten.
• Keep kataifi covered while you work; it dries out and snaps quickly.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Dimitras Dishes Real Greek Recipes