[Sca-cooks] Knaf was e: Abbasid Qataif (spiced nut filled pastries)

[Susan Fox]

Ana Valdés wrote:
> Wonderful! I was in Palestine andJordan last week and bought two kilo
> of "small cut", cakes and pastries. From Zalatimo Brothers, the best
> baker in the Middle East. They export to the US and to Europe.
> I ate in their place knaf, my favorite pastry, filled with
> sheepcheese. They told me it was almost impossible to make knaf
> outside the Middle East since the special sheepcheese is not made in
> other parts of the world. I know people tried with mozarella and
> mascarpone.
> Have any of you tried to make knaf?
> Ana, missing the flavours and the smells of the Middle East!
>   
I did not know the Arabic name for this, only the Greek "tyropita".  I 
have no trouble finding sheep's milk cheese in the Los Angeles area, in 
the Middle Eastern stores in particular.  I would try this with rinsed 
sheep's milk feta, unless I was really in the mood for a lot of salt 
[which happens in the hot summers here].

Bon appetit!
Selene