Balsamic strawberries with mascarpone and Kataifi

Ingredients

Makes 5

For the Kataifi discs
375g Antoniou Kataifi pastry
75g butter, melted

For the strawberries
500g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp chopped basil

For the cream
250g mascarpone
250ml thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp icing sugar

To serve
Icing sugar

Method

For this Kataifi Pastry recipe, take your chilled Kataifi Pastry out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you begin, still in its packaging, to bring it up to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

To make the Kataifi Discs
Separate and tease the Kataifi Pastry and place it into a large bowl. Pour the melted butter over the Kataifi and using your hands mix well until all the strands are coated. Using a 10cm cookie cutter as your mould, position the mould onto the baking tray. Place 25g of Kataifi in the mould and press down to form a disc. Repeat with the remaining Kataifi until you have 15 discs.

Cook in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool completely before using.

To prepare the strawberries
In a large bowl combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, icing sugar and basil. Stir to combine.

To prepare the cream
Place the mascarpone in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Transfer to a separate bowl.

In the same mixing bowl, whip the cream with the vanilla and icing sugar until thick peaks form. Add the mascarpone to the whipped cream and stir until well combined.

To assemble the stacks
Place one disc on your serving plate. Add one generous tablespoon of cream and a few strawberries. Repeat with 2 more discs, cream and strawberries. Dust with icing sugar.

Recipe, styling and photography by Souvlaki for the Soul