Vegan Knaffe with Yemeni Zahoug

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• Butter for greasing ramekins
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 (about 6 oz) chopped chanterelle or oyster mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth or stock
• 2-3 cups shredded phyllo dough (kataifi) at room temperature
• 3-5 tablespoons vegan butter melted
• 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
• Sauce Ingredients:
• 2 small tomatoes cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1/2 small red onion chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 serrano chili cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 1
   Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly butter four 4-oz ramekins.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and paprika with a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
3. 3
   Add the vegetable broth/stock and cook until most of the liquid has been reduced, about 3-4 minutes longer.
4. 4
   Put mushroom mixture in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside.
5. 5
   Put the kataifi in a medium bowl and drizzle enough melted butter over it to just evenly coat the pastry. Toss with your fingers to evenly coat the dough with the butter.
6. 6
   Put a 1-inch layer of kataifi in each ramekin and top with the mushroom mixture. Top each mushroom layer with 1 tablespoon of the vegan cream cheese. Add a 2-inch layer of the kataifi, pressing down gently to make it compact. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
7. 7
   While the kataifi is baking, combine all the sauce ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside until ready to serve.
8. 8
   Spread sauce onto individual plates and gently unmold the knaffe on top.