[Ravensfort] BAKLAVA

[AmberRaven]

Sweetness is Baklava 

This is a recipe for a layered Greek pastry which my little brother takes to all SCA functions and has won him great acclaim and many romantic encounters. I hope it works as well for you. 

Baklava 

To make one 9 X 13 inch pastry 

1 pound butter 
1/4 cup olive oil 
40 sheets filo pastry, each about 16 inches long and 12 inches wide 
(throughly defrost pastry if frozen) 
4 cups shelled walnuts ground in a blender, nut grinder or mortar and pestle 
1 cup pistachio nuts coursely chopped 
1 cup pecans coursely chopped 


Clarify the butter by slowly heating in a heavy saucepan or skillet and skimming the surface as the foam rises. Remove the butter from the heat, let it rest for 2 -3 minutes, then spoon the clear butter off the milky solids on the bottom of the pan and discard the solids. 

Combine the walnuts, pistachios, and pecans 

Preheat the oven to 350' 

Stir the olive oil into the clarified butter. (important to clarify the butter to prevent the burning in the oven) Using a pastry brush coat the bottom and sides of a 13 X 9 inch pan with the oil and butter mixture. 

Fold a sheet of filo in half crosswise, lift it up gently and unfold it into the prepared pan. 
Press the pastry flat, fold down the excess aroudn the sides and flatten it against the bottom. Brush the entire surface of the pastry lightly with the butter and oil mixture. 
Lay another sheet of pastry on top of the first in the same fashion. 
Sprinkle the pastry evenly with about six tablespoons of the nut mixture 
Repeat the procedure using two sheets of buttered filo and the nutand sugar mixture to make 19 layers in all. Spread the remaining two sheets of filo on top and brush the baklava with all of the remaining butter and oil mixture. Be sure to coat each layer well with butter and oil mixture as you layer it. 

With a small sharp knife score the top two layers of the pastry with parallel diagonal lines about 1/2" deep and 2" apart, then cross them diagonally to form diamond shapes. 
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300' and bake for about 45 minutes longer or until the top is crisp and golden brown. 

Syrup 


1 1/2 cups white sugar 
3/4 cup water 
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
1 Tablespoon honey 

Meanwhile, make the syrup. 
Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a samll saucepan and, stirring constantly, cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and, timing it from the moment the syrup boils, cook briskly, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, or until the syrup reaches a temperature of 220' on a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the honey. Pour the syrup into a bowl or pitcher and set aside. 

To finish 

When the baklava is done, remove it from the oven and pour the syrup over it 
Cool to room temperature Just before serving, cut the baklava into diamond shaped serving pieces along the scored lines. 

This is a very rich pastry 

 
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