Kataifi Nests With Strawberry Cream And Pistachios Food

GREEK EKMEK KATAIFI RECIPE (CUSTARD AND WHIPPED CREAM PASTRY WITH SYRUP)

Steps:

• To prepare this traditional Ekmek kataifi recipe start by making the base. Preheat the oven to 170C and unroll the kataifi dough from the plastic sleeve. Work the kataifi dough with your hands, tearing apart the shreds and spreading the strands out a bit if they clump together, in order to get fluffy. For this ekmek kataifi recipe you will need a 25cm square non-sticking baking dish. Butter the bottom of the baking dish and spread the kataifi dough to form the base of the ekmek kataifi. Pour over the melted butter and bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven, until crispy and nicely coloured.
• In the meantime prepare the custard for the ekmek kataifi (steps 2-4). Add in a large bowl the egg yolks with half the sugar (100g) and whisk until fluffy. Add 3-4 tbsps of the milk and the corn starch and whisk again until the corn starch has dissolved. Set aside.
• Pour the rest of the milk in a large non-sticking pan and add the sugar and the vanilla extract. Place the pan over high heat and bring to the boil. As soon as the milk comes to the boil, remove from the heat and ladle gradually 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture, whilst whisking. Place the pan (with the remaining milk) again on the stove and turn the heat down to medium. Add the egg mixture into the pan with the remaining warm milk. Whisk continuously, until the mixture has thickened and is smooth and creamy. Remove the pan from the stove, add the butter and stir.
• Pour the custard in a large tray, cover with some plastic wrap (the plastic wrarp should be touching the custard, so that it doesn't form a crust) and let it cool, while you prepare the rest of the ekmek kataifi recipe.
• Turn the kataifi out of the oven and let it cool down completely.
• Prepare the syrup for the ekmek kataifi. Add all the ingredients for the syrup into a small pot and bring to the boil. Simmer the syrup of 3 minutes (without stirring), until slightly thickened and remove from the stove. Leave the syrup aside to cool down for a while, until lukewarm. Ladle slowly the lukewarm syrup over the cold baked pastry, enabling each ladle to be absorbed. Set aside to cool down for a while.
• Prepare the whipped cream and assemble the ekmek kataifi. Top the kataifi base with the custard and even out using a spatula. Put the cold heavy cream into a mixer's bowl, add the icing sugar and whisk on high speed until medium peaks form, about 1 minute. Top the ekmek kataifi with the whipped cream and even out. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and a pinch of cinnamon.
• Store the ekmek kataifi in the fridge and serve cold. Enjoy!

TORTA KATAIFI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Line the bottom of the springform pan with a layer of the kataifi. Bake until golden brown, 10 minutes. Then cool completely.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
• Place the pistachios, cinnamon and cloves in a food processor and process until the nuts are chunky and uniform in size. Do not over process. Reserve half of the nuts for a later use.
• Sprinkle the first half of the nuts over the baked pastry; spread most of the nuts towards the edges of the pan and fade to a light coating in the center of the pan. This will create a nice crust on the back of each piece when the dessert is cut and served.
• In a large mixing bowl mix together the ricotta, cream, sugar and vanilla with a large spoon. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or by hand with a whisk, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture with a spatula or rubber scraper. Pour the mixture into the pan over the nuts. Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top of the ricotta mixture similar to the first time, with most of the nuts on the outer edge and fade to lightly coat the center. Spread the remaining sheet of kataifi on top of the cake, covering the entire surface.
• Bake until golden brown and the cake is set, 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Cool the cake completely.
• Pour the hot Citrus Syrup over the cooled cake, then cut and serve.
• Place the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and orange zest in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture achieves a syrup consistency, 20 minutes.

PISTACHIO BIRD'S NESTS

Steps:

• Soak the pistachios in water for 30 mins. Dissolve the sugar in 500ml water in a pan over a medium heat, then bring to a boil and bubble for 15-20 mins or until reduced and lightly syrupy. Stir in the lemon and boil for a minute more.
• Cover the kataifi with a damp cloth so it doesn't dry out. Take a finely twisted 30cm length of pastry and wrap it in a circular motion around two fingers into a nest shape. Transfer to a baking tray, then repeat with the rest of the pastry.
• Drain the pistachios and gently press four or five into the middle of each nest. Cover the nests with a layer of baking parchment, then put another baking tray on top and put a 1kg weight on top. Leave at room temperature for 1 hr, then remove the parchment and leave for another hour to dry out.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Pour the butter over and around the nests, so that they're sitting in a layer of melted butter. Cook for 20-25 mins until golden brown, turning the tray from time to time to make sure the nests are evenly coloured. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then transfer to a clean baking tray and pour over the syrup. Leave to cool completely in the syrup, then serve.

KATAIFI NESTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Brush 12 muffin cups with butter or use silicone muffin pans.
• Pull the kataifi into 1-inch-thick bundles; cut bundles into 2-inch lengths. Place in a bowl; separate into a loose pile with fingers. Toss with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, if using.
• Divide among 12 muffin cups; press into bottom and up the sides.
• Cook until golden and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let cool.
• Fill with jelly beans, speckled eggs or other candy eggs.

KATAIFI NESTS WITH STRAWBERRY CREAM AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375° F. Brush the muffin tins with butter. (I used a 6-cup medium-size muffin tin and a 12-cup mini-muffin tin).
• Remove half of the kataifi from the package, separate it with your hands into a loose pile, and spread it on a clean surface. Drizzle it with the cooled, melted butter and gently toss to moisten it evenly. Separate it into 1"-thick bundles and use a pair of scissors to cut each bundle into a manageable size, about 6" long or smaller (the size depends on the tin you are using). Press each bundle into the bottom and sides of the tin. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy around the edges.
• While the kataifi nests are baking, make the syrup. Place a small saucepan over medium heat and combine the sugar, water, honey, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Let it cool.
• When the kataifi nests come out of the oven, pour some of the syrup into each nest, tilting the tin to distribute the syrup evenly in each nest, until the syrup is used up. It is very important to use cooled syrup on the hot kataifi nests. Depending on the size of you kataifi nests, you might not need to use the whole syrup (you can store it in the refrigerator for another use). At the beginning it will look like there is too much syrup, however, allow the nests to sit at room temperature to soak up all the syrup for an hour or overnight.
• Before you make the strawberry cream, remember to chill the ingredients, the mixing bowl, and the whisk attachment. Add the mascarpone cream in the mixing bowl and beat it on medium speed until fluffy. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl, increase the speed and beat until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar, the powdered, freeze-dried strawberries, and the vanilla extract and continue beating until everything is well incorporated and stiff peaks form.
• Place the kataifi nests in sturdy, grease-proof paper cups. Transfer the strawberry cream to a piping bag and pipe some of the cream onto each kataifi nest. Alternatively, use an offset spatula to top each one with a good dollop of the cream, the way you would do with cupcakes. You will have left overs - cover it well and refrigerate or even freeze. Sprinkle with some chopped pistachio nuts and serve!