Greek week
Baklava is an ancient Greek delicacy, valued for it's rich culture and references in history. It is a soft, flaky pastry with pistachio paste and caramel. This recipe serves 18.
Ingredients
- 250g butter, melted
- 500g chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 packet filo pastry
- 200g caster sugar
- 250ml water
- 8 tablespoons honey
- 1 large piece of lemon peel
Directions
- Preheat oven to 180 C. Butter the bottom and sides of a 23x33cm baking dish.
- Toss nuts with cinnamon. Set aside.
- Unroll filo pastry. Cut whole stack at once to fit the dimensions of the baking dish. Cover filo with a damp cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of filo in dish, buttering the top layer. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of filo, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 to 8 sheets deep.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the dish. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
- Make sauce while baklava is baking: Boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add honey and lemon peel. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove lemon peel and discard.
- Remove baklava from oven and immediately pour cooled sauce over it. Let cool. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if wrapped.
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