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| BAKLAVA | |
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Baklava is a rich, sweet, holiday confection prepared using phylo sheets, which are a plain, paper-thin flour and water pastry popular in Greek and Turkish pastries, both sweet and savory. The wafer thin layers of phylo are spread with butter; the eighteenth layer is then covered with chopped nuts and another 18 layers are placed, with each layer being buttered for flakiness. Phylo ('phylo' is the Greek term but these delicate mille-feuille pastry sheets are also known as 'yufha' in Turkey and 'filo' in the Middle East) may be found in the freezer section of the supermarket (one brand is Pepperidge Farm). It is important never to allow the phylo sheets to be exposed to the air for any length of time during the preparation or they will dry out and become brittle. For this reason, keep a microwavable cup filled with butter close at hand and brush the phylo often or keep it covered with a damp, clean cloth. Any combination of chopped walnuts, pistachios and almonds may be used as filling, with pistachios perhaps being the most authentic. Baklava I: 3 cups walnuts, finely chopped 1 cup blanched almonds, finely chopped 1/3 cup granulated white sugar 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground cloves 1 lb phylo (filo) leaves 2 cups butter, melted Combine walnuts, almonds and spice. In a baking pan, layer 5 phylo leaves, buttering between each layer as it is stacked. Repeat 4 times. Top with remaining phylo leaves, buttering each second leaf. Using a sharp knife, trim the edges and cut Baklava into diamond shapes. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool. Pour hot syrup over Baklava (see below). Syrup: 2 cups water 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice lemon or orange rind 1 stick cinnamon Combine all ingredients for syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes. Pour syrup, while hot, over the cooled Baklava. The recipe below is for another version of Baklava. Try both and see which is your favorite. Baklava II: 2 lbs chopped walnuts, almonds or pistachios 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup Zwieback, ground 1 lb butter, melted 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 lbs. phylo dough Process Zwieback crackers in food processor or blender with cinnamon and sugar. Add walnuts, almonds or pistachios (or any combination of these three kinds of nuts) and pulse just a few seconds more. Note: Do not process until nuts are ground - be sure to leave some texture, stopping to stir with a spatula if needed to obtain even results and only until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Brush the bottom of a 14x20" pan with melted butter and place on a pastry sheet. Brush again with melted butter, repeating this process until 4 pasty sheets line the bottom of the pan. Brush the fourth layer with butter and sprinkle with the nut mixture. Add another phylo sheet, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with nut mixture. Repeat this process until all ingredients are used, finishing with 4 pastry sheets on top. Brush top with butter and cut into diamond shapes. Bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before topping with syrup. Syrup: 1 1/2 cups water 3 cups granulated white sugar juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Boil syrup for 10 minutes. Pour hot syrup over cold Baklava and leave overnight in baking pan. Baklava may be frozen. Submitted by: CM | |
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