الكنافة

There's nothing I want more than this right now.
Kunafe (الكنافة) is a traditional dessert in the Arab world with which I fell in love in Jerusalem. What's interesting about this sweet is that every place that has it, whether inside or outside the Middle East, seems to make it completely differently. The basic concept is always the same--cheese, dough, sweet wheat, sugary syrup, and pistachio garnish--but I've never had it the same way twice. The best way to have it, in my opinion, is the way they make it at my favorite دكان الحلويات in Jerusalem's Old City. Enter Damascus Gate, walk straight down the largeish middle road until you're forced to choose your path at a fork, choose the street on the right, and walk until you see Jafar Sweets on your right-hand side. You'll think you've gone too far, but keep walking--you'll know it when you see the blue-and-orange light-up sign. Ask for the stuff that looks like the picture above. The pastry is more than worth the trip.

I'd better be careful, though; the Arabic Wikipedia entry tells me that 250g of the stuff (sue me; I'm a scientist who worked with nothing but the metric system for years and I still cannot picture an amount in grams) is worth 961 calories. Go figure.