Kataifi Haloumi Spring Rolls

Ingredients

Makes 8 spring rolls

200g Kataifi Pastry

250g haloumi cheese

¼ cup toasted walnuts, chopped

honey

rice bran or vegetable oil

Method

Cut haloumi cheese into batons, roughly 2cm wide sand 8cm long.  Set aside

Unravel kataifi pastry and use your fingers to separate the strands until light and fluffy. 

Tease the Kataifi pastry apart with your fingers to loosen. Pull away small bundles in a long rectangle shape on your bench roughly, 15cm long and 8cm wide.

Place one haloumi baton onto the end of each piece of the Kataifi pastry and begin rolling the pastry around the haloumi tightly into a spring roll shape.  Repeat with remaining haloumi cheese & Kataifi pastry.

Lightly wet your hands and squeeze each spring roll to ensure the pastry binds together and holds its shape during cooking

Heat oil and shallow fry spring rolls until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Drizzle the spring rolls with a generous amount of good quality honey and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.

Serve immediately to enjoy the gooey texture of the hot haloumi with the crunchy kataifi.

Kataifi Pastry Discs

Ingredients

Makes 15 discs

Kataifi Discs

375g Kataifi Pastry

150g melted ghee (we use Pepe Saya)

Savoury Disc Seasoning options

paprika

parmesan cheese

sesame seeds

Dessert Disc Topping

3/4 cup mascarpone

1 cup nutella

pinch of salt

fresh raspberries
 

Method

Preheat your oven to 200 deg C and line a large tray with baking paper.

Pour the ghee through the kataifi, mixing with your hands until all the strands are evenly coated. 

Using a 10cm cookie cutter as your mould place roughly 25 grams (a small bundle) of the kataifi in the mould and squash down to form a disc. Repeat with the remaining kataifi until you have 15 discs.

Sprinkle with a topping of your choosing for additional flavour, paprika, parmesan cheese, or even sesame seeds. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with your favourite winter soup or curry for that extra crunch..

Dessert canapé 

For a canape size Kataifi disc, use a smaller cookie cutter around 4cm in diameter and repeat the above process.

Top a cooled Kataifi disc with a teaspoon of Nutella, followed by a teaspoon mascarpone and garnish with a halved fresh raspberry. 

Serve immediately.

Kataifi Nests with Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients

Makes 4 panna cotta

Kataifi Nests

Half a 375 packet Kataifi pastry

Butter or ghee, melted (we use Pepe Saya)

Pana Cotta

400ml milk

400ml pouring cream

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

150g of caster sugar

2 titanium strength gelatine leaves

Method

Kataifi Nests

Tease the Kataifi pastry apart with your fingers to loosen and place in a bowl (Place remainder back in the packet, sealed tightly for later use).

Pour over melted ghee, mixing with your hands to ensure the ghee is evenly distributed over the Kataifi pastry.

Pull away small bundles, roughly 10cm in length and begin twisting.

Place the twisted kataifi on a lined baking tray, arranging in a donut or nest shape.  Repeat with remaining pastry until you have as many nests as you need.  

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack and then place on top of your set panna cotta, with any fruit of your choice.

Panna Cotta

Over a medium heat, bring the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla seeds and pod to a simmer, stirring regularly until the sugar dissolves. Then remove from the heat.

Place one gelatine leaf at a time into cold water to soften together (this will ensure they don’t stick) for about 30 seconds.

Once soft, squeeze out excess water and whisk the gelatine leaves into the warm cream to dissolve.

Strain the mixture into a large jug through a fine sieve. Pour into small decorative glasses.

Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or until set.

Lemon Curd & Custard Kataifi Tart

Ingredients

160g Kataifi pastry (a bit less than half a packet)

75g melted butter

Lemon Curd

½ cup caster sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

Juice of 1 lemon

3 egg yolks

75g butter, cubed

Vanilla Custard

2 cups full cream milk

2 eggs

2 heaped tbsp. corn flour

1 tbsp sugar (to taste)

1 vanilla bean, seeds

Method

Preheat your oven to 170 deg C.

Place the kataifi in a bowl separating the strands with your fingers to loosen the bundle.

Pour the melted butter over the kataifi working through with your hands to ensure the pastry is evenly coated.

Take small handfuls of the kataifi, laying across the pie dish, stretching out to cover the base and up the sides.  Continue with remaining kataifi until the dish is covered.

Bake for 12 mins or until golden brown. Allow the pie base to cool in the pan for 5 mins before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Fill the kataifi pie base with the cooled custard, followed by the lemon curd and top with fresh raspberries or fresh fruit of your choice.  Serve immediately.

For the lemon curd

Place the sugar, lemon juice, zest and egg yolks in a bowl over a heavy-based saucepan filled with a little water on medium heat.

Whisk constantly for 10 to 15 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon.

Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in butter until combined. Cover surface with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours or until chilled.

For the vanilla custard

Heat the eggs, milk, sugar, corn flour and vanilla in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. 

Stir continuously until the custard begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon. 

Leave the custard to cool completely before pouring into the cooled tart case.

Kataifi Prawns

Ingredients

Makes 20 prawns

1kg extra large green prawns (about 20), heads removed, peeled, deveined, tails intact

200g Antoniou Kataifi Pastry

100g butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Lemon wedges

Method

1. Start the recipe by preheating your oven to 200 deg C and line a baking tray with baking paper

2. Peel and devein prawns, leaving tails intact.

3. Place the kataifi pastry in a bowl and loosen until strands are separated.

4. Pour the butter over the kataifi, gently massaging into the pastry, ensuring all the strands are evenly coated.

5. Tear a small handful of kataifi, (approx. 10g) away from the bundle and lay in a long strip on the bench.

6. Dip a prawn into the egg mixture, then place at the base of the kataifi strip.

7. Proceed to roll the prawn away from you, wrapping the kataifi around tightly. 8. Repeat with the remaining prawns and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.

9. Garnish with a sprinkling of parsley and fresh lemon wedges.  Also try serving with a spicy mayo or chopped fresh coriander and freshly squeezed lime.

Note:
Kataifi prawns are just as delicious deep fried. Follow the same preparation method for the prawns, skipping steps 4 & 6, then simply deep-fry in any vegetable oil.

Recipe, styling and photography by Souvlaki for the Soul

Mini Kataifi Tarts with Chocolate, Nuts & Dates

Ingredients

Sugar syrup

170g caster sugar
200ml cold water
1 tsp lemon juice

Filling

4 dates, seeds removed
50g shelled walnuts
25g shelled pistachios
60g dark chocolate (minimum 70%)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cardamom
zest of half an orange

Kataifi

1 x 375g pack of Antoniou Kataifi
175g butter, melted

Method

To make the sugar syrup place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan over a medium high heat and bring the mixture to the boil.  Once it boils allow the syrup to simmer for 10 minutes until slightly reduced and “sticky”.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

To make the filling place all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until it resembles a paste.  Set the mixture aside until ready to assemble the tarts.

Place the kataifi into a large bowl. Using your hands, untangle and shred the pastry to form smaller strands.  Pour the butter over the kataifi and mix well. 

To assemble the mini kataifi tarts, begin by taking small amounts of the buttered kataifi,  pressing into each pan of a 12 pan mini muffin tin.  Pack tightly to form a small cup and then fill each cup with a teaspoon of the chocolate nut mixture.  Add more kataifi to each pan to cover the filling and pat down gently. 

Repeat until each tart is complete and bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius, for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. 

Remove each tart from the pan and immediately spoon over the cooled syrup.  Allow to cool and garnish with chopped pistachios and a little grated dark chocolate. 

Repeat this process two more times until you have 36 mini kataifi tarts.

Recipe, styling and photography by Souvlaki for the Soul

Ham & Cheese Kataifi Pie

Ingredients

375g kataifi pastry

250g butter, melted

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 slices of thickly cut ham

3 tsp Dijon mustard

425ml milk

3 eggs

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C and grease and line a 28 cm baking dish with baking paper.

Place the kataifi in a large bowl and and pour over 200g of the butter. Mix well ensuring each strand is coated well. Place half the kataifi at the base of the baking dish.

Combine the cheeses in a separate bowl and spread 1.5 cups of the mixed cheeses on top of the pie base. Lay the ham over the cheese ensuring it overlaps. Spread the mustard over the ham and top with another 1.5 cups of mixed cheeses. Top with the remaining kataifi to cover the pie.

Whisk the eggs along with the milk and remaining 50g of butter. Pour over the pie making sure it is fully absorbed.

Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and bake for 45 -50 mins until golden. Allow top cool for half an hour before slicing into desired sizes.

Recipe, styling and photography by Souvlaki for the Soul