Recipe
Lebanese Cheese Knefeh Recipe
Posted by : noor24
Preparation time : 30 Min
Cooking time : 50 Min
Level of difficulty : Low
Ingredients
4 servings
- 1 package of shredded Fillo dough
- 1/2 pound of butter melted
- 2lbs Ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. lemon juice (fresh)
Preparation
First step is to defrost the Fillo dough. Do this by shredding the fillo in a bowl continuously till completelly defrosted.
When this is done, you can start adding the butter while continuously shredding the dough ( so that the dough does not stick together).
When this is complete and the dough is shredded thoroughly, split the dough into two equal portions.
In a well buttered pan, spread out the dough thoroughly, but do not compress. Once the dough is spread evenly, start preparing the Ricotta cheese. The process is to make patties, similar to hamburger patties, but with the cheese.
Lay the cheese patties onto the prepared dough in the pan.
When the layer of Ricotta cheese is fully covering the dough, lay the second half of the dough unto the cheese so that it is evenly distrubuted.
Preheat the oven to 350 F, once preheated place the pan in the middle for approximately 45 minutes. The dough must brown.
At that level, you will need a larger pan in which you will flip the Knafe so the the bottom is on top and vice versa.
Then bake again till the browning occurs on the adjacent side. Once browned on both sides, the Knafe is finished.
Finally top the Knafe with the pine nuts and the sweet syrup and enjoy.
Sweet Syrup
In a pot, combine 3 cups of sugar with 1 1/2 cups of water. Mix and heat over stove till boiling process.
Once boiling add a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and boil for a few minutes more for thickening process. Let cool and use over Knafe once done baking.
