Baklava is an extremely popular pastry dish that is made with phyllo dough, a nut filling, and a honey syrup on top. Although the name “baklava” is actually Turkish, the pastry itself originates from ancient Greece, where they made a dish named “gastrin” that was was very similar to the modern baklava. The type of nuts used in baklava varies in different parts of Greece. Some use almonds, others use walnuts, and some even use peanuts. However, one of the oldest and most traditional ways to make this delicious pastry is the recipe shown below.
20 sheets of pre-made phyllo dough
14oz of almonds, chopped
14oz of wallnuts, finely diced
4 ½ cups of bread crumbs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp of ground cloves
1/8 tsp of ground nutmeg
Zest of one orange
3 tbsp of sugar
1/2lb of butter
½ cup of vegetable shortening
For the syrup:
½ cup of honey
2lb of sugar
2.5 cups of water
1 cinnamon stick
1 ½ tbsp of lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
Traditional Baklava
In a small pot, add the butter and vegetable shortening and melt them on low heat. Once they are melted together, remove from heat and set aside. In a bowl, mix the almonds, walnuts, bread crumbs, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, orange zest and the sugar. Then, take a deep baking dish and coat the bottom and sides with the melted butter. Take 6 sheets phyllo dough, and brush the surface of each one of them with the melted butter, and put them in the baking dish one on top of the other. Then, add an even layer of the nut mixture on top of the phyllo. Take another sheet of phyllo dough and apply it on top of the layer of nuts, folding the edges back onto itself inside the baking dish (so none of the phyllo sheet is hanging over the sides of the dish). Repeat this step 8 more times, adding a layer of nut mixture and a buttered sheet of phyllo each time. Lastly, use the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo dough, and apply them on top the same way you did the first 6 sheets, buttering each one and laying them on top of each other. Don’t forget to fold the edges back onto itself inside the baking dish (so none of the phyllo sheets are hanging over the sides of the dish). Using a sharp knife, make parallel, diagonal cuts in the baklava, creating triangular diamond shapes, (try to avoid scraping the bottom of the baking dish with the knife). On top of the pastry, add the remaining butter and then sprinkle with water. Bake in the oven at 338 degrees (F) for 1 ½ hour (until golden brown on top). After it finishes baking, pour the syrup mixture (below) on top (while the baklava is still hot), and set the pastry aside until it has absorbed the syrup completely.
For the syrup: in a small saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, water, cinnamon stick lemon juice, and lemon zest, and boil on high heat for 4 minutes…then set aside to cool until it is room temperature. Pour on top of the baked baklava as directed above.
Leftover baklava remains good for about a week before it should be thrown out.
Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/1KSyfAZ Original recipe in Greek: http://bit.ly/1ud5REM
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