8.9.18
You didn’t ask for this, but let me give you a little background on me. I promise it’ll circle back around to a kanafeh. I am an actor living in NYC and have been here for more years than I want to say out loud, or write on the internet. Since I was a teenager, I’ve worked in restaurants. It’s always been my top choice when having a survival job or a job in general to pay the bills. It’s great money, I’m good at talking about food and I’m not scared to talk to people. This has been the norm up until last summer when I accepted a job that was still kind of related to food, but no longer serving. I didn’t enjoy it, so I got out, traveled for a theatre job and came back unemployed. When trying to decide how the next survival job should pan out, I was at a crossroads. Do I jump back into the restaurant world, building myself from zero seniority again? This would include learning a new menu, not having priority to get time off, possibly not getting along with my coworkers, and definitely not seeing my husband very much because of having to work opposite schedules. I considered my other flexible option, temping. I’ve had friends temp here and there, but I’d never done anything like it myself. I’d never worked in an office, I’d never used Outlook, I’d never worked a job that didn’t consist of running around and talking to people for eight hours. Maybe it was time for a change? So I’ve been temping for almost six months now and I love it. There are pros and cons, like any job, but one of the best things I’ve encountered is the consistent ability to have down time during basic one-day jobs at a desk. I read the news (yikes), I read a book (great!), I look for auditions (fingers crossed), and most importantly, I sift through the internet for new desserts I’d never heard of and explore all the wonderful treats I’ve never made. And THAT is how I found KANAFEH!
I told you this would circle back around to a point I was making!
Now, since mentioning this to others, many people had heard of this dessert, but I was not one of them. Kanafeh is the perfect balanced dessert. It’s slightly sweet but has cheese inside of it?? LIKE EVERY DESSERT SHOULD! I read through the standard recipe (involving Middle Eastern cheeses and flavors) and created something with easier ingredients to attain, and flavors that I thought would compliment this concept! This journey also took me to an incredible store in an area of Manhattan I’d never been to, which included a ton of Middle Eastern restaurants and markets. It was amazing, and a little overwhelming, to find yet another pocket of this city I wasn’t familiar with. I URGE you to try this dessert because it’s become a new favorite. And it is VERY easy to put together. I bought a few packs of shredded phyllo to prepare to make this again for friends, because they need to know the wonder that is……kanafeh!
Fig & Goat Cheese Kanafeh
Ingredients
For the Kanafeh
- 1 lb (a box) of shredded phyllo dough*
- 1 1/2 cups ghee**
- 8 oz creme fraiche
- 12-15 oz goat cheese
- 1 pint fresh figs (white or purple), quartered
- chopped walnuts for garnish
For the Syrup
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon
- 1/2 cup water
- honey for drizzling
Instructions
For Kanafeh
- Allow creme fraiche and goat cheese to come to room temperature, place both in a medium bowl and mix together, set aside
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set out a 10″ cast iron skillet
- Thaw the shredded phyllo and cut vertically into 1/2″ inch pieces and place in large mixing bowl
- Heat ghee up for about 20 seconds in microwave to make sure it’s completely melted and pour over shredded phyllo, mixing with your hands and massaging the ghee into the phyllo to make sure it’s all evenly coated
- Press half the phyllo into the bottom of cast iron skillet and make sure it’s packed tightly along bottom and sides
- Spread the cheese mixture evenly over phyllo in skillet and leave 1/2″ border
- Pack rest of phyllo over cheese and press tightly over and around edges to securely enclose cheese inside phyllo
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, phyllo will be golden brown
- Once finished, take out of oven and pour 1/3 of syrup over phyllo
- Allow to cool 10-15 minutes, then invert kanafeh onto serving plate or dish (one with a small rim is suggested to catch syrup or honey that pools at the bottom)
- Pour the rest of the syrup over top of kanafeh, place fresh figs and walnuts over top and around kanafeh for garnish
- Enjoy immediately (although it can be kept in the fridge overnight to enjoy leftovers, but it’s better warm)
For the Syrup
- While the kanafeh bakes, make syrup
- In a medium saucepan, heat together sugar, water and lemon juice over medium-high heat
- Bring to boil until soft ball stage (about 235 degrees F)
- Remove from heat and cool until kanafeh comes out of oven
P.S.
*This can be found in any Middle Eastern market, in the frozen section as well as on Amazon
**This can be found all over BUT Trader Joe’s has it for cheap
