Food enthusiasts across Britain have discovered an exciting culinary crossover that's perfect for summer gatherings. Alice Zaslavsky's innovative kataifi picnic pie with warm oregano honey drizzle represents a delightful fusion between traditional quiche and pie, offering a unique texture and flavour profile that's capturing attention.
The Magic of Kataifi Pastry
Unlike conventional pastry options, kataifi brings an extraordinary crispy texture to baked goods. Many mistakenly believe it's simply shredded filo pastry, but the preparation method reveals significant differences. Kataifi begins as a light, pourable batter streamed through fine nozzles onto heated plates, cooking almost instantly into delicate, vermicelli-like strands resembling spun silk.
This distinctive pastry has roots extending back to the Ottoman Empire, spreading across Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisines. Traditionally, it features in syrup-soaked desserts like baklava and künefe, or wrapped around seafood. More recently, creative cooks have been layering it into savoury pies that beautifully balance crunch and comfort.
The Great Kataifi Shortage
Earlier this year, Australian retailers experienced an unprecedented kataifi shortage that affected home cooks and professional chefs alike. Effi Tsoukatos, marketing manager for Antoniou pastry manufacturers, explained the surprising cause. The popularity of Dubai chocolate, which uses fried kataifi as a key ingredient, created overwhelming demand that manufacturers struggled to meet.
During the peak of the shortage, the situation became so desperate that some sellers were offering kataifi at nearly four times its regular price. Fortunately, supplies have now normalised, allowing more people to experiment with this versatile pastry in both sweet and savoury applications.
Creating the Perfect Picnic Pie
Zaslavsky's recipe cleverly addresses what to do with leftover kataifi, or provides an excellent introduction for newcomers to this pastry. The dish combines elements of quiche, with its savoury custard filling, and pie, with its guaranteed crispy crust. The result is an ideal portable meal for picnics, summer parties or al fresco dining.
The preparation begins with bringing kataifi pastry to room temperature and gently separating the strands. A springform pan gets lined with half the pastry, creating a base with overhanging edges to form a lid later. The savoury custard filling combines cherry tomatoes, garlic, red onion, oregano, eggs, Greek yoghurt, marinated feta and nutmeg.
The innovative technique involves snipping some remaining kataifi directly into the custard mixture before pouring it into the pastry-lined tin. The overhanging pastry gets folded over the filling, with the remaining kataifi arranged strategically over the top to create complete coverage.
After baking for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and set, the pie gets finished with a warm oregano honey drizzle. This combines lemon juice and rind, mild-flavoured honey, pistachios and fresh oregano warmed together to allow the flavours to meld beautifully.
The final presentation includes a rocket and feta salad with lemon wedges, creating a complete meal that works equally well served warm or at room temperature. This recipe demonstrates how traditional ingredients can be reimagined to create contemporary dishes perfect for modern British dining occasions.
