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Baklava - by Amran
Baklava is an Arabic dish that spread and is avail right across the
middle east/Mediterranean region.
I make this in a typical lasagne dish.
Nut Mixture
You will need a 2:1 mixture of Pistachio : Assorted Nuts. Unsure of
quantities, I usually just guess the amount. don't worry if there's
too much or too little, it will just mean there is less/more nut
filling. For my filling I use
Pistachio
Cashews
Almonds
Walnuts
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
You can vary/change the combination of nuts accordingly or add other
nuts to suit your taste. For instance I believe the Greek version of
baklava is heavily walnut based.
Combine the ingredients in a food blender and blend until a very rough
and coarse mixture is produced. don't worry if you over do it, all
that will do is give it slightly less texture. Once this is done,
set it to one side.
Syrup
1/2 pint Water
1/2 pint Sugar
0.2 pint Honey
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Small stick of cinnamon.
Next, get the syrup going. Add the above ingredients to a saucepan
and once boiled/combined let it simmer away slowly for about 20mins
or until you have a light syrup. Try not to let it go too thick. I sometimes substitute some water for rose water. As for the honey,
you can substitute that too, for a honey of your liking - I usually
guess the amount of honey to put in and probably add more than is in
the ingredients, but if you don't like the honey taste too much add
slightly less.
Method
You will need
clarified butter, or ghee
file pastry
Now here's where the method of putting this dish together really
counts. Baklava is known for its flaky, crisp, layered pastry. To
achieve this I use 15 sheets at the bottom, 2 sheets in the middle
to aid in holding the baklava together, and 15 (or more) sheets at
the top. you may need to buy two packs of filo pastry for this - if
in doubt, buy one pack and if you don't think you have enough make it
with 6sheets top/bottom instead of 15.
Before you start, set your oven to 175 degrees Centigrade to get it
warmed up
Take one sheet of pastry first, lay it in the dish and trim so that
it fits snugly. use this as a template to cut the rest of the
'block' of filo. keep any off cuts as you can use this to patch bits
or make up a new layer.
Melt the clarified butter/ghee and brush onto the bottom of the
dish. Add a layer of filo. brush with butter. Repeat the process
until you have about 15 sheets layered. Note: don't be stingy with
the butter!
At this point, add roughly half of the nut mixture to the dish (I
hope you buttered the last layer of filo!). spread it out using your
hands (food needs love too) and very gently pat down. add two sheets
of filo, remembering to butter them, and add the rest of the nut
mixture
Again, filo, brush with butter, filo, brush with butter, until you
have used it all up.
Now, you need to cut the baklava before it goes into the oven.
Squares can be achieved with horizontal/vertical lines. Diamonds can
be achieved with vertical lines, and diagonal lines (as opposed to
horizontal). You might also want to check on your syrup. put it
aside to cool
Place the dish into the oven for about 25-30, until the filo has
turned lightly golden brown.
Now, I'm told there's an old adage. Hot baklava and cool syrup, or
cool baklava and hot syrup. Never have both hot at the same time. I usually go for the former. once you baklava is ready, take it out of
the oven and immediately pour the cool syrup over it.
Stand back and hear that satisfying crackle and hissing. Set it to
one side and leave it to cool. ideally, make this dish in the
evening, set it aside and by the morning it will be cool and ready
to eat with morning coffee/tea.
