Baklawa, Baklava, paradise! With so many recipes to choose from and so many variations, how to decide?
Take comfort in the thought that since you don't have to make the phyllo, and you're going to use fresh ingredients, it is almost impossible to go too badly wrong.
This recipe is from the famous Ana Sortun of Oleanna Restaurant and her book Spice.
She tells almost as great a story as Claudia Roden. She describes a visit to a Baklava shop in southeastern Turkey where they use a special pistachio, grown only for baklava, with a unique flowery taste. The chefs train their whole life and use goat butter between the layers of phyllo to create a fragrant, heady masterpiece. Sortun uses black walnuts to get the same effect. Of course, they are not easy to find, so you can substitute walnuts or pistachios, but when you do run across some black walnuts, grab them and make baklava!
MAKES ONE 8-INCH BAKLAVA OR ABOUT 16 PIECES
8 oz. walnut halves. (aoubt 2 1/2 c.)
5 oz. black walnut pieces (about 1 c.)
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. ground cinnamon
2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
(I sometimes add cardamom instead, as they do in Iraq and Iran)
2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 pkg. phyllo dough
Syrup:
1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
2 cinnamon sticks
5-6 whole cloves
2 t. freshly squeezed lemon juice
(I sometimes add rose water or orange blossom water, 2T.)
Preheat to 350*
1. Toast nuts separately for about 8 minutes
2. Coarsely chop regualr alnuts so somilar to black walnut pices.
3. Toss both with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg.
4 Brush 8" square pan (disposable are great because you can cut off one side when done, to more easily extract the baklava)
5. Cut eighteen 8" squares of phyllo dough, cover with towel to avoid drying out.
6. Butter pan, lay down phyllo, butter, phyllo, repeat until you have 8 buttered layers.
7. Make a layer of nuts with 1/2 of the nut filling. (1 1/2 c.)
8. Top nuts with 4 sheets phyllo, brushing generously with butter between layers.
9. Spread remaining nut mixture on top.
10. Add 6 more layers of phyllo, buttering each.
11. Cut 4, 4" square quarters, then cut each on both diagonals into 4 more pieces, making 16. Cut all the way through to the bottom.
12. Bake 45 minutes until light golden brown. Lower to 300* and cook 20 minutes more.
SYRUP:
Combine water, sugar, honey, cinnamon sticks, cloves and boil, then reduce to medium. Stir to dissolve sugar and simmer 20 minutes until thickens and you have 1 1/2 c.
Add lemon juice (and any fragrant waters)
When baklava comes out, pour warm syrup evenly over the pan. Cool completely. Cut through each marked piece and carefully lift from pan. If you're not using a disposable pan, take one from the middle first.
She tells almost as great a story as Claudia Roden. She describes a visit to a Baklava shop in southeastern Turkey where they use a special pistachio, grown only for baklava, with a unique flowery taste. The chefs train their whole life and use goat butter between the layers of phyllo to create a fragrant, heady masterpiece. Sortun uses black walnuts to get the same effect. Of course, they are not easy to find, so you can substitute walnuts or pistachios, but when you do run across some black walnuts, grab them and make baklava!
MAKES ONE 8-INCH BAKLAVA OR ABOUT 16 PIECES
8 oz. walnut halves. (aoubt 2 1/2 c.)
5 oz. black walnut pieces (about 1 c.)
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. ground cinnamon
2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
(I sometimes add cardamom instead, as they do in Iraq and Iran)
2 sticks butter, melted
1/2 pkg. phyllo dough
Syrup:
1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
2 cinnamon sticks
5-6 whole cloves
2 t. freshly squeezed lemon juice
(I sometimes add rose water or orange blossom water, 2T.)
Preheat to 350*
1. Toast nuts separately for about 8 minutes
2. Coarsely chop regualr alnuts so somilar to black walnut pices.
3. Toss both with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg.
4 Brush 8" square pan (disposable are great because you can cut off one side when done, to more easily extract the baklava)
5. Cut eighteen 8" squares of phyllo dough, cover with towel to avoid drying out.
6. Butter pan, lay down phyllo, butter, phyllo, repeat until you have 8 buttered layers.
7. Make a layer of nuts with 1/2 of the nut filling. (1 1/2 c.)
8. Top nuts with 4 sheets phyllo, brushing generously with butter between layers.
9. Spread remaining nut mixture on top.
10. Add 6 more layers of phyllo, buttering each.
11. Cut 4, 4" square quarters, then cut each on both diagonals into 4 more pieces, making 16. Cut all the way through to the bottom.
12. Bake 45 minutes until light golden brown. Lower to 300* and cook 20 minutes more.
SYRUP:
Combine water, sugar, honey, cinnamon sticks, cloves and boil, then reduce to medium. Stir to dissolve sugar and simmer 20 minutes until thickens and you have 1 1/2 c.
Add lemon juice (and any fragrant waters)
When baklava comes out, pour warm syrup evenly over the pan. Cool completely. Cut through each marked piece and carefully lift from pan. If you're not using a disposable pan, take one from the middle first.
We'll do this in class
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