Ingredients
Makes 18-20 rolls
Custard
100g fine semolina
2 egg yolks
1 litre milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Squeeze lemon juice
Custard Parcels
1 packet of Kataifi Pastry
1 quantity of semolina custard
250g melted butter and clarified
Pistachios, ground to decorate
Method
Before you begin this Kataifi Pastry recipe, take your Kataifi Pastry out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature.
For the custard
Make the custard the day before if possible. In a large saucepan, warm the milk. Do not let it boil. Sprinkle in the semolina and salt and whisk continuously to ensure that no lumps form. Continue stirring until a thick luscious custard is formed. Add the vanilla and the sugar slowly and mix well. Take the saucepan off the heat. Add the egg yolks beating continuously so that the eggs don’t cook. Cover the custard with glad wrap and allow to rest and cool, preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 175°C.
For the syrup
In a medium saucepan combine the sugar water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Once the syrup comes to a rolling boil reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes - time it. Do not stir the sugar syrup at any time to avoid it crystallizing.
Assembling the rolls
Open the Kataifi packet. Tease it out to get long strands and cover it with a tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Cut or break about a 12 cm long piece, and about 5cm wide.
Butter generously using a pastry brush.
Place about 1 tablespoon of custard mixture at the top of the strip and then fold the sides over the custard, making sure the sides are well coated and that no custard is peeking out. Then start rolling, making sure that the custard is well cradled inside, sealing the end with water.
Arrange in a baking tray. Allow to air dry while you tidy up and then bake.
Before baking, brush generously with melted butter, making sure they are totally covered in melted butter- be generous!
Bake for about 40 minutes. Once golden and baked, take out and pour the syrup over the hot bundles. Allow the kataifi rolls to absorb the syrup, then display them in a beautiful platter and decorate with pistachios.
Recipe by Kathy Tsaples with Justine Schofield for Everyday Gourmet.