Greek - Baklava (honey & almond pastry)
Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 4:29 pm
I don't expect happy tailgaters to fall out with each other until after a game, but be warned that this ancient and exotic delicacy is really that exquisite that nations have gone to war over its bragging rights. If gold had a flavour, this would be it.
When Greek merchants returned from Mesopotamia with this eastern promise, Athenian kitchens went into overdrive to develop the filo pastry we all know today (Greek "phyllo", meaning leaf) to "polish" this recipe. The Persians and the trading states of the Silk Road championed variations with hints of cinnamon and clove. Baklava graced the harems and courts of the Ottoman Empire's most powerful and despotic Sultans, where it was relished for its exotic and aphrodisiac qualities. Culinary artisans from Europe & Imperial Russia flocked to Constantinople to learn the secrets of this "Turkish Delight".
Today, if you want to get your hands on some decent baklava from my local village baker on Crete, well, he opens about 5:00am. If you show up by 8:30, its gone, and so is the baker.
Whether you are a man or a woman, chat up lines are immaterial when it comes to baklava. All that matters is who made it.
Preparation time: 20 mins.
Cooking time: 70 mins.
Ingredients:
For the filling -
- 1 packet of filo sheets, about 16oz, a little melted butter
- 8oz of butter, melted, and no, margarine will not do
- 4 slices of fine dry bread crumbs (no crust)
- 16oz of flaked almonds (preferably), or chopped walnuts, pistacchios, or pecans
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
For the syrup -
- 3/4 cup water
- 1.25 cup honey
- 2 cups sugar (brown or white)
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 2-3 cloves
Method:
First of all, bear in mind that with filo pastry, you have to be quick. If you can't, keep the sheets covered with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out. Apart from that, this one's a doddle.
In a bowl, mix all the "filling" ingredients. Lay three sheets of pastry on top p of each other in a buttered baking dish, brushing each sheet with a little melted butter. Cover with 1/3rd of the almond filling.
Lay another 2 sheets down in the same way as above, and cover with another 1/3rd of the almond filling.
Lay another 2 sheets down as above, and cover with the rest of the almond filling.
Lay 3 more sheets down, brushing each sheet with butter. With a very sharp knife, cut the pastry diagonally to form triangles.
Put the dish in a prehaeated over at 160*C, about 320*F for 60 - 70 mins, or until pastry has turned golden brown.
While the pastry is in the oven, mix the water, honey, sugar, cinnamon and cloves, bring to a low - medium "boil", and stir occasionally for 10 - 15 mins. When the pastry is finished in the oven, scrape any foam from the top of the syrup, pour the syrup over the baklava, and leave the pan in the warm oven until the syrup has been absorbed. This takes as long as it takes.
Serve slices at room/ambient temp. Not that baklava needs much more sugar, but it can be dusted with icing (or powdered sugar) to finish. I've seen finished pastries so ornate it is almost a crime to break them up.
Lastly, because I have had to convert from metric, I have rounded some measurements up make things easier. The casualty in all this might be the filo pastry, so if there is a little filling left over and a little syrup left over by the time you've finished, you won't be far off the mark. You could try a little lemon zest in the syrup, and I understand the Ottomans were rather partial to rose water instead of what comes from our taps today.
When Greek merchants returned from Mesopotamia with this eastern promise, Athenian kitchens went into overdrive to develop the filo pastry we all know today (Greek "phyllo", meaning leaf) to "polish" this recipe. The Persians and the trading states of the Silk Road championed variations with hints of cinnamon and clove. Baklava graced the harems and courts of the Ottoman Empire's most powerful and despotic Sultans, where it was relished for its exotic and aphrodisiac qualities. Culinary artisans from Europe & Imperial Russia flocked to Constantinople to learn the secrets of this "Turkish Delight".
Today, if you want to get your hands on some decent baklava from my local village baker on Crete, well, he opens about 5:00am. If you show up by 8:30, its gone, and so is the baker.
Whether you are a man or a woman, chat up lines are immaterial when it comes to baklava. All that matters is who made it.
Preparation time: 20 mins.
Cooking time: 70 mins.
Ingredients:
For the filling -
- 1 packet of filo sheets, about 16oz, a little melted butter
- 8oz of butter, melted, and no, margarine will not do
- 4 slices of fine dry bread crumbs (no crust)
- 16oz of flaked almonds (preferably), or chopped walnuts, pistacchios, or pecans
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
For the syrup -
- 3/4 cup water
- 1.25 cup honey
- 2 cups sugar (brown or white)
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 2-3 cloves
Method:
First of all, bear in mind that with filo pastry, you have to be quick. If you can't, keep the sheets covered with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out. Apart from that, this one's a doddle.
In a bowl, mix all the "filling" ingredients. Lay three sheets of pastry on top p of each other in a buttered baking dish, brushing each sheet with a little melted butter. Cover with 1/3rd of the almond filling.
Lay another 2 sheets down in the same way as above, and cover with another 1/3rd of the almond filling.
Lay another 2 sheets down as above, and cover with the rest of the almond filling.
Lay 3 more sheets down, brushing each sheet with butter. With a very sharp knife, cut the pastry diagonally to form triangles.
Put the dish in a prehaeated over at 160*C, about 320*F for 60 - 70 mins, or until pastry has turned golden brown.
While the pastry is in the oven, mix the water, honey, sugar, cinnamon and cloves, bring to a low - medium "boil", and stir occasionally for 10 - 15 mins. When the pastry is finished in the oven, scrape any foam from the top of the syrup, pour the syrup over the baklava, and leave the pan in the warm oven until the syrup has been absorbed. This takes as long as it takes.
Serve slices at room/ambient temp. Not that baklava needs much more sugar, but it can be dusted with icing (or powdered sugar) to finish. I've seen finished pastries so ornate it is almost a crime to break them up.
Lastly, because I have had to convert from metric, I have rounded some measurements up make things easier. The casualty in all this might be the filo pastry, so if there is a little filling left over and a little syrup left over by the time you've finished, you won't be far off the mark. You could try a little lemon zest in the syrup, and I understand the Ottomans were rather partial to rose water instead of what comes from our taps today.