111Kataifi

Method

Traditional rolled walnut kataifi. Serve one or two rolls per person at room temperature, ideally with unsweetened Greek coffee.

You will need

• baking dish (approx 33 x 23 cm)
• saucepan
• small ladle or spoon
• mixing bowl

1. Prepare the syrup by bringing 400g sugar, 350ml water, lemon peel, and cinnamon stick to a gentle boil in a saucepan. 5 min Ready when: sugar dissolved and clear
2. Simmer for 6 minutes, stir in the honey and lemon juice, remove from heat, and allow it to cool down completely. 7 min Ready when: syrup thickened lightly and cold
3. In a bowl, mix the finely chopped walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, and 50g sugar until evenly distributed. 4 min Ready when: uniform aromatic nut mixture
4. Preheat a conventional oven to 160°C (325°F) and lightly butter a 33 x 23 cm baking dish. 5 min · 160°C / 325°F Ready when: oven at temperature
5. Gently pull apart and fluff the kataifi strands with your fingers on a large clean surface, making sure there are no dense clumps. 8 min Ready when: airy, separated strands of shredded pastry
6. Take a ribbon of pastry strands about 7 cm wide and 20 cm long, place a heaped tablespoon of nut filling near one end, fold the side strands inward, and roll it up snugly into a cylinder. 15 min Ready when: neat, compact shredded pastry cylinder
7. Place the roll into the buttered dish and repeat with remaining pastry and filling, fitting the rolls snugly side by side so they hold their shape. 10 min Ready when: pan packed snugly with uniform rolls
8. Slowly spoon the warm melted butter evenly over every single roll, ensuring each parcel is thoroughly soaked with butter. 5 min Ready when: rolls saturated with golden butter
9. Bake in the preheated oven at 160°C (325°F) until the pastry is uniformly deep golden brown and completely crisp right to the centre. 55 min · 160°C / 325°F Ready when: crisp, crunchy exterior and rich amber colour
10. Immediately after removing from the oven, slowly ladle the cooled syrup over the scorching-hot kataifi rolls. 3 min Ready when: distinct sizzle as syrup enters hot shredded pastry
11. Let rest uncovered for at least 2 hours to absorb the syrup thoroughly without turning soft. 120 min Ready when: syrup absorbed, exterior still crisp

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Make ahead and storing

Can be baked and soaked a day ahead; flavour improves as the syrup penetrates the nut centres.

Store loosely covered with a clean tea towel at room temperature for up to a week; avoid airtight plastic or refrigeration.

Substitutions

• pistachios or almonds for walnuts. Pistachios give a vibrant green filling and a slightly sweeter profile common in the Aegean.

Common mistakes

• Leaving kataifi pastry uncovered while rolling. The fine strands dry out into brittle threads in minutes and will shatter rather than roll.
• Rolling too loosely. The rolls will unravel and dry out in the oven instead of retaining the juicy nut core.

Regional variants

• Kataifi Ioanninon: frequently combines crushed almonds and walnuts with extra clove and goat's milk butter.

About the dish

Kataifi is an iconic Greek confection built from shredded vermicelli-like pastry strands wrapped around a sweet, spiced nut core. Originating in the wider eastern Mediterranean and refined in Ottoman royal confectioneries, it became firmly rooted in Greek pastry shops and domestic feast traditions. Individual rolled parcels are gently nestled side-by-side in a baking pan, saturated with melted clarified butter, baked until thoroughly crisp, and immediately quenched with fragrant honeyed lemon syrup.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, christmas, new year, name day.

Cousins elsewhere

• Knafeh (Levantine). Uses the same shredded kataifi pastry, but typically layers it with mild cheese rather than rolled spiced nuts.
• Kadayıf Dolması (Turkish). Shredded pastry rolls filled with walnuts, though the Turkish variety is frequently dipped in egg and fried rather than oven-baked.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

400 kcal · protein 4.9 g · fat 22.5 g (saturated 8.2 g) · carbohydrate 47.8 g (sugars 29.6 g) · fibre 2.2 g · sodium 109 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Following the classic Greek home method of butter-basted individual rolls soaked with cooled honeyed syrup..

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