Basma (Kataifi Pastry and Sweet Cream Slice) - Recipe by Karima Hazim Chatila & Sivine Tabbouch

Ingredients

Makes 10 discs

375 g packet of kataifi pastry
250mL (1 cup) ghee, melted
150 g (1 cup) pistachios
1 quantity of Atter (page 211)
A handful of rose petals, to garnish

For the sweet cream:

250mL (1 cup) milk
30 g (1/4 cup) fine semolina
45 g (1/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
3 Tbs double (heavy) cream
1/2 Tbs rosewater
1/2 Tbs orange blossom water
250 g fresh ricotta

Method

To make the sweet cream, place the milk in a saucepan on a high heat and add the semolina, then whisk in the sugar and cream.

Keep whisking until it starts to thicken and begins to bubble. Once it starts to bubble, keep it on the heat for a few minutes, mixing well, and add the rose and orange blossom water, stirring some more, then remove from the heat. Using a silicone spatula, fold through the ricotta and leave it to cool.

Place a sheet of clingfilm (plastic wrap) over the cream to stop it from forming a skin. You can use it at room temperature or place in the fridge for the next day.

To make the pastry, preheat the oven to 180 C.

Remove the pastry from the packet and pull it with your fingers to separate the strands and loosen it up. Fill a clean spray bottle with water and spray your pastry ever so lightly to make it easier to use and manipulate. Alternatively, you can wet your hands a few times and dampen the pastry that way.

Take a handful of the pastry, about 35 g and lay it out long and straight. Take one end and begin to spiral the pastry, on a flat surface, until you have made a snail shape. Lift it using a spatula and place it in a non-stick baking tray. Repeat this step with the remaining pastry (or as many as you wish to make) placing them on the baking tray, filling in any gaps you may notice in the snail with extra pastry.

Lay a piece of baking parchment on top of the spirals of pastry along with a second baking tray with a weight on top to flatten the pastry into disks as flat as possible – this ensures a crispier layer when baking. After 20 minutes, remove the weight, baking parchment and tray and drizzle the ghee on top of the discs.

Bake for 30 minutes or until they reach a deep golden colour. Once you remove the tray from the oven, drain off the excess ghee into a bowl, which you can use for a second batch.

Leave the pastry layers to cool, then blitz the pistachios roughly and set aside on a plate.

To assemble, place a layer of pastry on a plate and generously top with some sweet cream and chopped pistachios, before placing a second layer of pastry on top. Garnish with dollops of the sweet cream and sprinkled crushed pistachios and serve with a generous drizzle of atter and a few rose petals.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Sofra by Karima Hazim Chatila & Siline Tabbouch (Hardback, RRP $50) published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally. Photography: © Luisa Brimble.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Sofra by Karima Hazim Chatila & Siline Tabbouch (Hardback, RRP $50) published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally. Photography: © Luisa Brimble.