WALNUT, CINNAMON AND HALLOUMI BAKLAVA
The texture of the crispy phyllo and the crunchy filling are perfect here with the warm halloumi. Most phyllo is sold frozen; defrost it slowly in the fridge, and handle with care. Serve the baklava warm if you can - so that the cheese remains soft - straight out of the oven with some ice cream and a drizzle of the syrup. It also works at room temperature, with a coffee, but once it has cooled don't be tempted to reheat it in the oven.
Provided by Yotam Ottolenghi
Categories pastries, dessert
Time 45m
Yield 9 large or 16 small pieces
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/240 degrees Celsius. Mix together all the ingredients for the filling and set aside.
- Place one sheet of pastry in an 8-by-8-inch/20-by-20-centimeter baking pan, preferably one with low edges, arranging the pastry so the sides of the sheet rise up the sides of the pan. Brush with a little butter and continue in the same way with 7 more sheets of pastry, brushing each with butter, until you have layered 8 sheets of pastry.
- Scatter the grated halloumi on top of the pastry and then sprinkle all of the walnut mixture over evenly. Place another layer of pastry on top, pressing down securely. Brush with more butter and continue with the remaining 7 layers of pastry in the same way. Brush the final layer with butter and use your fingers to gently tuck the pastry edges underneath the baklava so you get a neat edge (a bit like making a bed).
- Using a small sharp knife, cut the baklava into 9 or 16 pieces, allowing the knife almost to reach the bottom, but not quite. Transfer to oven and bake for 18 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through baking until baklava is dark golden-brown and crisp on top.
- While the baklava is baking, make the rose water syrup: Heat sugar and 1/3 cup/90 milliliters water in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, swirling every once in a while until the sugar has dissolved and started to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add lemon juice and rose water and let simmer gently for 6 to 7 minutes, until you have about 3/4 cup/180 milliliters of slightly thickened syrup left. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- As soon as the baklava has been removed from the oven, pour two-thirds of the syrup over it and sprinkle with rose petals, crushing them slightly as you go. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly, and then serve each slice warm, with an extra 1 or 2 teaspoons of syrup drizzled on top.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 398, UnsaturatedFat 13 grams, Carbohydrate 41 grams, Fat 24 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 7 grams, SaturatedFat 9 grams, Sodium 309 milligrams, Sugar 22 grams, TransFat 0 grams
SYRIAN WALNUT BAKLAVA
Marhaf Homsi learned to make this Syrian-style walnut baklava from his family in Hama. The baklava he and his wife, Nawal Wardeh, now bake in Brooklyn and sell at their online store, Syrian Sweet Refuge, is less intensely sweet than the sticky confection familiar to many Americans. Cut into large squares, as is traditional in Hama, where the couple ran a bakery for 30 years, the baklava is lightly soaked in a lemon sugar syrup, rather than honey. Use the best quality walnuts available and chop them by hand; Mr. Homsi finds that walnuts chopped in a food processor get bruised and overly pulverized, creating a powdery texture. Be sure to leave time to defrost frozen phyllo dough, which takes 2 hours to thaw on the counter.
Provided by Tejal Rao
Categories dessert
Time 2h
Yield 24 pieces
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop walnuts by hand into small pieces. (A food processor will bruise and pulverize the walnuts, creating a powdery effect.) Transfer to a bowl and mix with confectioners' sugar and orange blossom water.
- Cover phyllo pastry with a clean, lightly damp kitchen towel. Layer a pastry sheet into a 13-by-18-inch pan, securing it in a few places with dabs of clarified butter in the bottom of the pan. Brush sheet lightly with butter before layering on the next sheet. Continue layering butter and sheets; once half the sheets have been used, scatter the walnut mixture evenly over the top, being careful not to rip the pastry or leave any spots uncovered.
- Layer the remaining sheets, brushing each lightly with butter, including the top one. If your sheets are larger than the pan, trim the stack all at once so the edges are flush with the pan. Cut baklava into 3-inch squares, and pour any remaining butter around the edges. Bake for 40 minutes, or until top is a light golden brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare simple syrup: Boil granulated sugar and 3/4 cup/180 milliliters water together in a small pot over medium-high heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Stir, set aside and let cool to lukewarm.
- If there is excess butter in the baklava pan, carefully tip it over the sink to drain. While baklava is still hot, drizzle over the lukewarm syrup, being sure to get it in the gaps between pieces. Once completely cool, the baklava is best stored covered at room temperature and eaten within a few days.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 299, UnsaturatedFat 14 grams, Carbohydrate 17 grams, Fat 25 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 10 grams, Sodium 81 milligrams, Sugar 7 grams
WALNUT-AND-HONEY BAKLAVA
The many buttered layers of phyllo dough, walnut filling, and sweet syrup make baklava the ultimate special-occasion dessert in Greece.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Healthy Recipes Vegetarian Recipes
Yield Makes one 12-inch baklava
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, pulse walnuts, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground.
- In a medium saucepan, heat 1 cup water and remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar over medium-high; bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer; cook until slightly thickened and sugar is dissolved, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in honey. Let syrup cool completely.
- Brush a 12-by-2-inch round cake pan with butter. Trim each phyllo sheet into a 13-inch round (cover with plastic and a damp towel as you work). Carefully layer 7 phyllo sheets in pan, brushing butter between each layer. Sprinkle one-third of nut mixture over top. Repeat process twice more, brushing butter between each layer. Top with remaining 7 phyllo sheets, brushing butter between each layer.
- Generously brush top layer with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), cut baklava into quarters, cutting through all phyllo layers. Halve each quarter to create 8 equal wedges. Working within one wedge at a time, make two straight cuts, 1 inch apart, parallel to one side of wedge. Make two more cuts, parallel to opposite side of same wedge, creating a diamond pattern. Repeat process in remaining 7 wedges.
- Bake until deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; pour syrup over baklava. Let cool completely before serving.
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