[Sca-cooks] OOP Baklava with nuts and sesame seeds

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Here's the Baklava recipe we cooked at the Mists Bardic Feast. I
thought it was really delicious.

I used less syrup than would have been called for, because i don't
like stuff too sweet. A number of folks remarked, completely
unbidden, on how much better they liked this less sweet baklava than
the usual far too sickly sweet stuff.

Also, it was a lot easier to make than the directions look - this is
the second time i've used phyllo and while describing the process
takes a lot of words, actually doing it is not difficult and goes
along pretty smoothly and quickly.

Anahita

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Baqlawa min Semsem wa Fistuk
Baklava with Sesame Seeds and Pistachios

about 100 small pieces

Modern Syrian-Lebanese, adapted from:
page 16
Patisserie of the Eastern Mediterranean
by Arto Der Haroutunian
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1989
ISBN 0-07-026665-4

SYRUP:
3-1/2 cups sugar
3 cups water
juice of 3 lemons
2 Tb. rose water
2 Tb. orange flower water

BAQLAWA:
a little butter (to grease pans)
2 lb. frozen phyllo sheets (at room temperature)
3 Tb. butter
2/3 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup raisins, soaked about 15 minutes in warm water
3 cups coarsely chopped nuts (about 1/2 lb. each almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups melted butter
2 cups shelled pistachio nutmeats, chopped

SYRUP:
1. Put sugar in water with lemon juice on medium fire. Raise heat and
bring to boil, stirring.
2. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes, until it coats the spoon.
3. Remove from heat, stir in flower waters, and let cool.

BAQLAWA:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Grease two 12 X 8 X 2 pans with a little butter.
3. Place phyllo sheets on a large plate, open them out halfway, cover
top with waxed paper, then a damp towel.
4. In 3 Tb. butter, fry sesame seeds until golden, stirring constantly.
5. Remove sesame seeds from heat and stir in raisins, chopped mixed
nuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
6. Put one sheet of phyllo in pan, cut in half.
7. With a wide pastry brush, spread with about 1 tsp. butter.
Continue adding half sheets, buttering every second sheet, until
there are 6 to 8 half sheets stacked in the pan.
8. Scatter half of nut-raisin mixture evenly over the pastry.
9. Repeat with another 6-8 sheets of phyllo and butter, then sprinkle
with the remaining nuts-and-raisins.
10. Top with another 6-8 sheets of phyllo, buttering every second
sheet. Butter top. Pour any remaining butter over all.
11. Carefully cut into pieces (about 1-3/4") without crushing. Be
sure to cut through to the bottom of the pan.
12. Sprinkle all over with chopped pistachios
13. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 min.
14. Lower heat to 300 and bake an additional hour - check
occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.
15. Remove from oven and let cool about 15 min.
16. Pour cold syrup evenly over all.
17. Let cool completely.
18. Loosen all pieces with a sharp knife, and transfer very carefully
on serving dishes.
This was amazingly delicious. There was actually some left over - it
was good for several days.