Alice Zaslavsky’s kataifi pie with feta, tomatoes and warm oregano honey – recipe | Australian food and drink

Of all of the kinds and shapes within the pantheon of pastry, kataifi is essentially the most playful. It likes to be twisted and turned, bathed in butter or oil, baked or fried till glowing with the promise of crispy flakes in your chin, lap and coronary heart as you crunch into its golden, glassy fuzz.Since they’re typically interchangeable doughs, it’s simple to imagine that kataifi pastry is just shredded filo. However slightly than being rolled and stretched into paper-thin sheets like filo (or phyllo, relying who you ask) kataifi begins as a light-weight, pourable batter which is streamed by means of high quality nozzles on to a rotating heated plate, the place it cooks virtually immediately right into a cascade of high quality vermicelli-like strands, delicate but sturdy, like spun silk.A bundle of pleasure: to make the pie, gently fluff and separate the kataifi so the strands separate. {Photograph}: Eugene Hyland/The GuardianThe pie in progress. {Photograph}: Eugene Hyland/The GuardianWith origins within the Ottoman empire that unfold throughout the Balkans and Center East, you’ll discover it bunched and crisped into nests for syrup-soaked sweets like baklava, ekmek, and künefe, knafeh or kunafa; wrapped round seafood like scallops and prawns; or layered into savoury pies that blur the curly traces between crunch and luxury.However the place you couldn’t discover it earlier this yr was in a single fridge part throughout Australian retailers. In line with Effi Tsoukatos, advertising and marketing supervisor and recipe developer for Antoniou pastry, one of many largest producers of kataifi within the nation, the recognition of Dubai chocolate, the place fried kataifi is a principal ingredient, led to a rush.“We couldn’t make it quick sufficient,” she informed me. “For these determined sufficient, folks had been promoting it for nearly quadruple the worth. Folks had been scalping kataifi!”So for those who did handle to get on the pattern, what do you do with the half packet left in your freezer? Or if that is the primary you’re listening to of such a magical pastry, how do you soar on the caravan with one thing extra savoury, although no much less satisfying, now that provide has caught up with demand?The recipe under is someplace between a quiche, with a savoury custard, and a pie, with a assured crispy crust. It’s excellent for taking alongside to your subsequent picnic.The ultimate nuts and bolts: to complete, a drizzle of heat oregano and pistachio honey. {Photograph}: Eugene Hyland/The GuardianKataifi picnic pie with heat oregano honey drizzle – recipeBefore you start any kataifi recipe, take the pastry out of the fridge to deliver it as much as room temperature. If utilizing it for wrapping particular person parts, preserve it below a moist towel so it doesn’t dry out. Freeze something you don’t use, then thaw as wanted.Serves 6 to 8For the pastryMelted butter, for greasing375g kataifi pastry, at room temperature100g unsalted butter, meltedSalt flakes, to finishHandful of rocket, to serveFor the savoury custard500g cherry or grape tomatoes1-2 cloves garlic, finely sliced 1 pink onion, halved lengthways and finely sliced lengthways1 tbsp contemporary oregano leaves, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano)4 eggs280g Greek or pure yoghurt (1 cup)200g marinated feta, drained and crumbled, with a small handful reserved for the finish¼ of a nutmeg, finely grated, or a pinch of floor nutmeg½ tsp salt flakes ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepperFor the nice and cozy oregano honey drizzle1 lemon2 tbsp mild-flavoured honey35g chopped or slivered pistachios (¼ cup)1 tbsp contemporary oregano leaves, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried oregano), plus additional for servingPreheat the oven to 200C/180C fan and grease a 23cm spherical springform cake pan with melted butter.In a big bowl, gently pull aside and fluff up the kataifi pastry together with your fingers so the strands separate. Cut up the pastry in half. Put aside one half within the mixing bowl below a clear, damp tea towel. Use the opposite half to line the springform pan, laying it throughout the underside and sides, guaranteeing you could have an overhang to kind the lid later. Utilizing your fingers, gently press down on the pastry and push it into the perimeters of the tin to kind a fair base. Brush the bottom and sides of the pastry with three-quarters of the melted butter. Rigorously place the tin on a baking tray.For the savoury custard, in a big bowl mix the tomatoes, garlic, onion and oregano. In one other bowl, whisk collectively the eggs, yoghurt, many of the feta (reserve a small handful of feta for the end), nutmeg, salt, and pepper till simply mixed, however nonetheless lumpy. Add to the tomato combination. Utilizing scissors, gently snip half the remaining pastry into small items, straight into the custard (after this, it’s best to have one-quarter of the pastry remaining). Gently fold every little thing collectively till simply mixed, however don’t over combine.Pour the savoury custard into the pastry-lined tin. Fold the overhanging pastry over the filling to cowl it. Gently brush with a number of the remaining melted butter. Fluff the remaining amount of pastry and unfold evenly excessive of the pie – like attempting to cowl a bald spot with a strategically angled bouffant. Brush with the final of the melted butter.Rigorously slide the baking tray with the tin on to the highest shelf of the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. You need the pastry to change into golden brown and the custard to be effectively set.Whereas the pie bakes, make the nice and cozy oregano honey drizzle. Utilizing a vegetable peeler or very sharp knife, peel the rind of the lemon right into a twist, or as giant a bit (or items) as potential. Slice the lemon in half. Juice one half, and slice the remaining half into wedges for serving.In a small saucepan on a low warmth, add the lemon peel and juice, honey, pistachios and oregano, and heat by means of – no have to boil. Take away from the warmth and permit the flavours to get pleasant.Take away the pie from the oven and permit to chill barely, ideally on a cooling rack (this helps with air-flow and retains the bottom from schvitzing). Launch the edges of the springform pan, then drizzle with the nice and cozy honey and sprinkle with a pinch of salt flakes. In a small bowl, crumble the final bits of feta by means of the rocket for a facet. Serve heat or at room temperature, with the feta-rocket and lemon wedges.