Dubai Chocolate Bark, Camp Version
Toasted kataifi and pistachio butter folded into melted chocolate, set on a cold rock.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 2.6 oz
- cal / oz
- 162
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 22 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- Canister stove
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Kataifi (shredded phyllo) | 3 oz | the frozen kind, thawed and chopped short at home |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 3 tbsp | ghee if the cooler is not cold |
| Pistachio butter | 1/2 cup | unsweetened, from a jar |
| Tahini | 2 tbsp | loosens the pistachio butter so it spreads |
| Dark chocolate | 8 oz | chopped into rough chunks |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Melt the butter in a dry pot over low flame. Add the kataifi and stir it constantly.
- Keep going 8 to 10 minutes until the strands are the color of straw and snap when you press them. This is the whole recipe. Underdone kataifi goes soggy the moment chocolate touches it.
- Tip the toasted strands into a bowl or onto foil. Wipe the pot.
- Off the heat, or over the barest flame, melt half the chocolate in the pot. Residual heat finishes it.
- Stir the pistachio butter, tahini, and salt into the kataifi, then fold in the melted chocolate.
- Spread the mix on foil, melt the rest of the chocolate the same way, and pour it over the top.
- Set the foil on a cold rock or in the cooler for 20 minutes, then break it into pieces.
The point of this dish is texture, not chocolate. Kataifi is shredded phyllo, and when it is fried in butter until it is properly dry it stays crisp inside a fat-heavy filling for days. Stop toasting early and it turns to paste within the hour.
Camp changes two things. There is no tempering, so the bark will be soft and matte rather than snappy; a cold rock or the cooler is enough to set it. And pistachio butter from a jar replaces the sweetened pistachio cream, with tahini thinning it out so it folds instead of clumping. It contains wheat and pistachios and butter, so it is dessert for a group that has cleared all three.
Packing
Chop and toast the kataifi at home if you would rather not babysit a pot in camp. It keeps two weeks in a sealed bag. Pistachio butter and tahini can be pre-mixed into one jar.
Variations
- Toast the kataifi over a grill grate in a cast iron pan if the stove is busy with dinner.
- Swap tahini for a spoonful of neutral oil if sesame is not your thing.
- Press the mix into a tortilla instead of setting it as bark and eat it warm.
https://savoriurbane.com/ciocolata-dubai-cu-crema-de-fistic-si-kataifi-fidea-speciala-knafeh-kunefe-copycat-fix-dessert-chocolatier