Ingredients
Serves 4
350g kataifi pastry, cut and pulled apart
200g butter, melted
Salt & pepper
For the lamb filling
80g frozen sour cherries
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp Turkish chilli pepper
1 tbsp lemon pepper
½ bunch parsley, roughly chopped
3 sprigs lemon thyme
¼ bunch oregano
60g walnuts
60g pistachios chopped
350g slow-cooked lamb shoulder, shredded
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Salt to taste
120g Alba sweet cheese, grated
To Serve
200g labne, strained yoghurt
½ clove garlic, microplaned
50g pistachios, chopped
1 pomegranate (optional)
Rose petals
Method
Before you begin this Kataifi Pastry recipe, take your packet of Kataifi Pastry out of the fridge 2 hours before you need it, still in its packaging and allow it to come up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place the separated Kataifi in a big bowl with the melted butter, salt and pepper and mix them together well.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the lamb filling, except for the cheese.
In a 22cm tart shell, brush the melted butter across the bottom of the shell and around the sides. Cover the bottom of the tart shell with half of the buttered kataifi and press well with your hand until well packed in. Add the lamb mixture, followed by the cheese. Cover with the remaining buttered kataifi and press down firmly.
Bake for 15 minutes on one side, then carefully turn over and cook the other side of the kunefe for another 15 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve with labne yoghurt mixed with garlic and a pinch of salt, pistachios, pomegranate and rose petals.
Recipe by Coskun Uysal - Everyday Gourmet.