APRICOT AND PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH ORANGE CARDAMOM SYRUP
I love Baklava and this take on the traditional gets a bit of tang from the citrus. This should be kept at room temerature. Tip: Use California apricots for a tart, pronounced apricot flavor or Turkish apricots for a sweeter, mellow flavor. From Fine Cooking
Provided by cookiedog
Categories < 4 Hours
Time 1h25m
Yield 30 pieces
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Thaw the phyllo overnight in the refrigerator. Then put the phyllo box on the counter to come to room temperature, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
- Make the filling: Put the pistachios, apricots, and sugar in a food processor. Process until the nuts and apricots are finely chopped (the largest should be the size of small dried lentils), 30 to 45 seconds. Set aside.
- Assemble the baklava: Unfold one pack of the phyllo sheets and stack them so that they lie flat on your work surface. Cover the top with plastic wrap, letting some excess plastic fall over all four edges. Dampen and wring out a kitchen towel and drape it on top of the plastic wrap; this will hold the plastic in place and prevent the phyllo from drying out.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Brush the bottom of a 9x13-inch metal pan (preferably with straight sides and a light-color interior to prevent overbrowning on the edges) with some of the butter. Remove a sheet of phyllo from the stack, re-cover the rest (be sure to cover the remaining sheets each time you remove a new one), and put the sheet in the bottom of the pan. Brush the sheet with some of the melted butter but don't soak the phyllo (remember, you'll have about 40 layers of buttered phyllo by the time you're done). Repeat until you have layered and buttered about half the sheets from the first pack-about 10 sheets in all. If your pan has slightly angled sides, arrange the sheets so the excess falls on the same side of the pan and cut the extra off every few layers with a paring knife. Sprinkle about one-third of the filling evenly over the phyllo.
- Repeat layering and buttering the remaining sheets from the first pack and sprinkle on another third of the filling. Open, unfold, and cover the second pack of phyllo. Layer and butter it as described above, sprinkling the remaining filling after layering about half the phyllo, and ending with a final layer of phyllo (you may not need all of the butter). Cover loosely and put the pan of baklava in the freezer for 30 minutes (this makes it much easier to cut the pastry).
- Bake the baklava: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.
- Before baking, use a thin, sharp knife, preferably serrated,and a gentle sawing motion to cut the baklava on the diagonal at 1-1/2-inch intervals in a diamond pattern. Try not to compress the pastry by pressing down on it with one hand while cutting with the other. Not only are you cutting serving portions, you are also cutting pathways for the flavored syrup to permeate the pastry, so be sure to cut the pastry all the way to the bottom of the pan. If you have an electric carving knife, pull it out and use it now. Bake the baklava until golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely. Run a knife along the cut lines to help the syrup absorb evenly.
- Make the syrup: Simmer the sugar and orange juice in a small pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cardamom. Pour the syrup evenly over the entire surface of the baklava, allowing it to run down into the cut marks and along the sides of the pan. Allow the baklava to cool to room temperature before serving.
- Make Ahead Tips. The baklava is at its best about 24 hours after the syrup is added. It will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days, though the texture changes from flaky and crisp to more solid and crystallized as time goes by.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 259.4, Fat 13.7, SaturatedFat 5.7, Cholesterol 20.3, Sodium 75.5, Carbohydrate 32.6, Fiber 2.4, Sugar 21.1, Protein 4
PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH ORANGE-CARDAMOM SYRUP
This recipe was published in the January 2010 issue of Bon Appetit magazine and it inspired me to give baklava a try. It also helped that I had a package of phyllo dough in the freezer that was crying out to be used. Needless to say, this recipe makes a gorgeous and flavorful pan of pastry. Minneola oranges (aka Honeybells) are now ripe here in Florida, and their juice gave the sauce a rich perfume. The orange-cardamom combination also offset the rich nuttiness of the pistachios perfectly. Heaven in a 13 x 9 pan! The only hitch in the recipe for me was that the phyllo I had was larger than the recipe called for, so I let some sheets come up the sides of the pan a little and folded the rest over and spread a little butter on them. The edges got a little thicker than the center, but were extra crispy and wonderful as a result! Be sure to cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and a damp towel while working with it, and if it tears or breaks, don't worry about it. I felt like mine was a messy patchwork quilt, but it didn't show when it was done and looked very professional. The article that was with the recipe suggested using the back of the hands to lift and move the phyllo, and it was a great suggestion and made it much easier to work with.
Provided by KK7707
Categories For Large Groups
Time 1h35m
Yield 30 pieces, 15-20 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Simmer 1 3/4 cups sugar and orange juice in saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil over medium heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Add cardamom and cool syrup.
- Place nuts and 2 Tbsp sugar in processor. Pulse until most of the nuts are finely ground (the largest pieces should be the size of small peas.) Mix nuts, 6 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with some of the melted butter. Place a sheet of phyllo in the dish and brush with melted butter. Repeat with 9 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
- Sprinkle half of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo. Top with a sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Repeat with 9 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
- Sprinkle with rest of the nut mixture over the phyllo, then top with 10 more sheets of phyllo and melted butter.
- Using a sharp knife, cut diagonally through the top phyllo layer from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. Cut top layer of phyllo into 1-inch-wide rows parallel to both sides of the first cut. Turn pan and cut rows about 2 1/4 inches wide, forming diamond pattern.
- Bake baklava until golden brown and crisp, 50-55 minutes. Drizzle syrup evenly over hot baklava. Cool in pan on rack. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers. Baklava can be made two days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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History of Baklava
Baklava has a long and rich history that can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire. It is believed that the dessert originated in the city of Istanbul, which was known as Constantinople at that time. Baklava was initially served as a royal dessert in the Ottoman courts and was often made with expensive ingredients such as pistachios, almonds, and honey. Over time, baklava spread to other parts of the Middle East and became a popular dessert in countries such as Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon.Ingredients
To make apricot and pistachio baklava with orange cardamom syrup, you will need the following ingredients:- 1 pound phyllo dough
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted pistachios, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups dried apricots, chopped
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons orange zest