INGREDIENTS

* Filling 350 gr. walnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped
* 55 gr. sugar
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons brandy
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon if walnuts are used, or 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel for almond filling

Pastry
* 500 gr. thread-like kadaifi pastry
* 170 gr. unsaited butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon cinnamon, for the top

Syrup
* 500 gr. caster sugar
* 500 ml water
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 pieces of lemon rind

METHOD

Mix all the filling ingredients well, in a bowl. Brush a large baking dish with butter. Pull a small handful of pastry lightly and spread it flat on a wooden board or a marble slab. Place a large tablespoon of filling at one end of the pastry and roll the pastry rightly over it, making sure the filling is securely enclosed. The result should resemble a cylindrical fat parcel, about 10 cm long maximum. Place these parcels in rows in the baking dish, leaving a little space between them, otherwise they do not crisp on the side. There should be approximately 18-20 pieces by the time you finish. Heat the butter and pour 1-2 tablespoons over each piece of kadaifi. Bake in a pre-heated oven, gas no. 4/ 350 grades F/ 180 grades C), for 30 minutes; increase the temperature to gas no. 7/ 425 grades F/ 220 grades C and cook for a further 10 minutes. The pastries should have a crisp and pale golden appearance. Let them cool while you make the syrup. Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the lemon juice and rind, and boil gently for 8-10 minutes, until the syrup thickens slightly. Pour the hot syrup slowly over the cool kadaifi and let stand in the dish until the syrup is completely absorbed. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on each piece.
Allow one piece of kadaifi per person.