Café Izz' Nabulsi Knafeh

Method

1. The Nabulsi or Akkawi cheese needs to have the salt removed, so put the diced cheese in a bowl, cover with cold water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain. Repeat this process every 15 minutes for 4 hours to remove the salt. Squeeze the diced cheese into even smaller pieces and set aside. Skip these steps if you’re using grated mozzarella.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. This works best in a conventional oven, using the top and bottom heat. Grease a 30.5cm cake tin generously with melted ghee or butter. Knafeh is traditionally made in a copper tray because it conducts the heat so well, but this will work too.

3. Chop the frozen kataifi pastry into small pieces to make it easier to blend. Add it in batches to a food processor and pulse until it’s a fine powder.

4. Put the pastry in a large bowl with most of the melted ghee or butter and the sugar. Use your hands to combine into a dough. Add more ghee or butter if needed to bring it together – it should hold together when you squeeze it.

5. Spread half of the dough over the base of the greased tin, making sure there are no gaps and pressing it down in a firm, even layer.

6. Scatter the cheese over the pastry base, keeping the edges clear. Scatter the rest of the dough on top, pressing it gently to flatten the surface.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the top is golden and crisp.

8. Meanwhile, to make the syrup, put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar, until thickened. Stir in the rosewater or orange blossom water (if using). Set aside to cool.

9. Remove the knafeh from the oven and immediately pour the cooled syrup over it, then scatter over the pistachios to decorate. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes before serving.