Sugar Sugar Sugar

 

I'm the type of person who thinks adding nine spoonfuls of sugar into a cup of coffee is amazing. Why not make it ten? I'm also that guy who orders water with a side of lemons at Applebees and then uses all the sugar packets on the side of the table to make lemonade. To me, there is no limit on sweet. From cotton candy to rock candy to caramel and rum, sugar has many forms and they're almost always delicious.

If you've ever seen of tried Middle-Eastern desserts, you'll notice there is plenty of sugar (like any dessert). Middle-Eastern desserts normally use dough and a mixture of honey and syrups. The dessert we'll be making tonight is a mixture of those two things and, surprisingly, cheese. Alright, well, maybe not so surprising, I mean, there are inventions like cheesecake and easy-to-reach pages like this and this to make it seem common, but… ahh who am I kidding? Cheese is used everywhere.

The dessert we'll be cooking tonight is called Kanafeh. It's heavy on the stomach but sweet and delicate as can be. It's, truthfully, a taste I cannot describe other than to say, try it yourself. Hopefully through my explaining how I did it, you can imagine how it tasted. 

Start by heading to a special Middle-Eastern grocery. There, you'll have to pick up shredded phyllo dough, Akawi cheese and rose water. I must say, it was a challenge walking up and down the isles of a foreign grocery; I couldn't read anything. Luckily, the not-so-enthused cashier extended his role to shopper-assistant.

 

The ingredients I used to make this dish was: water, milk, sugar, lemon, rose water, phyllo dough, butter, ricotta and Akawi cheese, and pistachio. 

To begin, prepare. You'll need a pan, oven sheet, spatula, and large bowl.

Start by making your syrup. This is a thickened mixture of sugar and water. On a hot stove, place 3 cups of sugar for every 1 cup of water into a pan. So, I used 6 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water. Stir continuously. It should take about 10 minutes to reach a good thickness. Add in some lemon juice and a tspn. of rose water, and thats it. When you feel like the consistency in the syrup is just right, dump it all into a carafe (or any adequate receptacle). This mixture can last for months in the fridge, by the way. Set this aside. 

Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, take out your phyllo dough and place it in a large bowl. Melt about 3/4 of a stick of butter and pour it onto the dough. Add in a half cup of milk. Mix the three ingredients together until they are evenly distributed. 

Next, grab a baking sheet and begin to place some of your dough mixture inside, this is the bottom layer of your dessert. Spread it evenly and then, firmly press down on it with a spatula to make a solid layer with no holes. 

Next, take out Akawi cheese and cut it into small cubes; about 4 cups worth. Then, in another large bowl, mix the Akawi cheese with 2 cups of ricotta cheese. Mix it manually until the cheeses are combined evenly. 

Your cheese mixture is going to be the middle layer of the pastry, so, begin to place it in. When you've covered the entire pan with the mixture, firmly press down on it to make a solid layer with no holes (haven't you read that already?).

Lastly, spread the dough mixture atop as it is the final layer to the dessert. And again, once it is evenly distributed, firmly press down on it with a spatula to make a solid layer with no holes. 

Throw the pan into the oven for 40 minutes. When you take it out, let it settle for at least 10 minutes. And then, to take the pastry out of the pan, flip it onto another plate. Place a plate onto the open side as you flip it, so there is no mistakes. You don't want all your hard work to end up on the floor!

And that's it. Once it's alone on a plate you'll see an aesthetically pleasing and soon to be delicious pastry. Take your syrup from the fridge and drizzle it onto individually cut slices. Then, for final touches, sprinkle ground pistachios atop the dessert. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, like me, good luck. I used the back of a spoon in a bowl. 

Enjoy the sweetness!