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Archive for March 25th, 2010

Baklava

Wait, I haven’t told you I made baklava yet, have I? No? I did! I made baklava. And it wasn’t scary at all. Actually it was, sort of: the scary part was the sheer quantity of baklava I ate over the course of the morning. The honey and nuts powered me through the 5:30-9am on-air shift and then carried me through work until early afternoon. The baklava-coffee combo is a little like speed. I had to put what was left in the trunk of the car – out of reach – on my way home.

Good news: in terms of working with phyllo, this is as easy as it gets – no folding, no manipulating. You thaw the stuff, unroll it, and slide a couple sheets at a time over onto a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with butter now and then (no need to slather it) and sprinkle a few times with chopped walnuts (or pistachios, or almonds, or cashews), sugar, cinnamon and cardamom (which is totally optional – if you don’t use any you won’t wreck it), then bake. If it makes you feel any better, Mike brought the phyllo home at around 9pm, and I needed to make a batch quick in order to get to bed at an appropriate time for getting up at 4:30 and being coherent on air in the morning. So we tried to thaw it quickly by holding it, hugging it, sitting it on our laps and stroking it (yes, in its wrapper) like a lapdog. I still prematurely unrolled it and it cracked completely – shattered, really – through every layer of its middle. No matter – it still worked perfectly and you couldn’t even tell. With all its layers, phyllo is pretty forgiving. Kind of like Mother Teresa.

Now, I realize this appears to be seriously lacking in the nuts department. It wasn’t, really. It didn’t have the inch-thick of nearly ground nut paste in the middle – the fresh walnuts were chunkier and sparser but in quantities not at all inadequate. This photo is of the piece I managed to hang on to and smuggle out the door after the pan sat for the entire morning beside the studio at CBC – 48 pieces made a great many people very happy (and very sticky) – Donna said it was better than the baklava she had in downtown Athens, but I suspect she was just being nice. Although it was pretty fab, if I do say so.

And – seriously? EASY. And far more delicious than any piece of manufactured baklava that’s been sitting on a shelf for weeks. It makes an enormous batch that keeps and travels well, so you can feed fifty-ish without much effort. Even the syrup is simple – you bring the mixture to a boil, then pour it over the baklava as soon as it comes out of the oven. Snap.

Baklava

1 package phyllo sheets, thawed
4 cups walnuts or pistachios, finely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cardamom (optional)
1/2 cup butter, melted

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
a thick strip of lemon peel (cut a slice off with a vegetable peeler, getting mostly the outer yellow part)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, stir together the nuts, sugar and spices.

Make sure your phyllo is completely thawed, and keep it covered with a tea towel or piece of plastic wrap to keep them from drying out. Place 2 sheets of phyllo on the bottom of a rimmed baking pan or jelly roll pan (about 12″x16″) and brush lightly with butter. Add three more stacks of two sheets (it’s easier to pull them off the pile two at a time), brushing with butter between each. Once you have 8 pieces of phyllo, spread a third of the nut mixture overtop.

Place 4 more sheets of phyllo on top of the nuts, brushing melted butter between each sheet or every two sheets. Repeat with another third of the nut mixture, another 4 sheets, and the rest of the nuts. Layer the remaining sheets of phyllo on top of the nuts; brush the top sheet with butter as well. Tuck in any sticking-out edges.

Cut the pastry lengthwise into four strips, then crosswise into six, making 24 pieces (they don’t have to be square), making sure not to slice through the bottom layer of phyllo. (This allows the syrup to soak in better.) Make diagonal cuts through each square, making them rectangles (you’ll end up with 48).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. While the baklava bakes, combine the sugar, water, honey and lemon peel in a pan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and take out the lemon peel.

When the baklava comes out of the oven, immediately pour the hot syrup evenly overtop. Let the baklava stand at room temperature until completely cool. Slice through each piece completely before serving. Makes 48 pieces.