1 karen mintzias
1 lb commercial raw kadaifi dough
1/2 cup sweet butter, melted
1 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds *
3 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 ground cinnamon
1/2 cup orange juice (optional)
2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp lemon juice
Directions
*Note: Use blanched almonds.
Open the raw kadaifi dough to the air for 10 to 15
minutes. Spread half the pastry evenly over the
bottom of a 9 x 12 x 3-inch baking pan and brush with
half the butter. Meanwhile, combine the almonds, 1/2
cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and orange juice in
a small bowl. (The orange juice will make the mixture
like a paste that can be spread with a knife.) Spread
the almond mixture over the kadaifi and cover with the
remaining dough. Brush with the remaining butter and
bake in a moderate oven (350 F) for 40 minutes or
slightly longer, until golden on top.
Meanwhile, boil the remaining 3 cups sugar with water
for 5 minutes. Stir in the honey and lemon juice,
bring to a boil and keep hot. When done, remove the
pastry to a rack to cool in the pan, then spoon the
hot syrup over the pastry. Cover with a dry towel and
allow to cool thoroughly. When cool, cut into square
or diamond shapes of any desired size. Dust with
additional ground cinnamon just before serving on
dessert plates.
From: "The Food of Greece" by Vilma Liacouras
Chantiles. Avenel Books, New York.
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
Servings: 16 servings
Kadaifi Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Indian
The History of Recipes
Food historians have traced the existance of recipes back into ancient history, in truth as far back as the early Egyptians, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that is, generally, these early cook books were just primitive hieroglyphic recipes for preparing food.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to food historians are a few tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel exhilarated. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we have two books dating from the fourteenth century ; a book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these are nothing to do with the indian food that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of food prepared by the cooks of the nobility of that period. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including rosemary and coriander. The introduction of these new culinary ideas prompted an outbreak in publications on food, most of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. During the succeeding few hundred years, the rich families of the West tried to offer the most exotic banquets, and because of this the best cooks and their recipe collections could command a high salary. However, it wasn`t until the 1800s that fine cookery and recipe books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to assembling, trying out, and writing down recipes common in their social group. Like it or not, the introduction of television brings us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everybody to access massive numbers of recipes just like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Kadaifi recipe.
