Karmen George, owner of Halwa Bakery & Cafe in Blacksburg is back in the kitchen to show us how to make a Middle Eastern Kenafa pie. Kenafa is a crunchy shredded phyllo dough that’s a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine. Karmen often features it in recipes she serves at Halwa Bakery. This particular recipe features a kenafa stuffed with mixed nuts, raisins and coconut, topped with pistachios and edible roses.
Crust:
- Shred kenafa in a food processor
- Pour melted butter onto kenafa
- Press kenafa into pie pan to make a bottom layer crust
Filling:
- Fill with finely chopped mixed nuts (Karmen uses hazlenuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios)
- Add mixture of raisins and golden raisins and coconut
- Cover filling with additional kenafa/butter mixture
- Press firmly
- Bake 15-20 minutes in 350 degree oven
Syrup & topping:
- Two cups of sugar, one cup of water, poured syrup and drizzle of lemon.
- Boil to thicken
- Garnish baked kenafa pie with crushed pistachios and edible roses
- Pour syrup over top baked kenafa pie
Learn more about Halwa Bakery & Cafe by visiting its Facebook page or its website.