Almond Baklava With Rosé Water Food

ALMOND BAKLAVA WITH ROSé WATER

Steps:

• Stir 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, honey, cinnamon sticks, and orange peel in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Mix in rose water. Chill until cold.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with some of melted butter. Mix almonds, ground cinnamon, allspice, and 1/3 cup sugar in medium bowl.
• Fold 1 sheet of phyllo in half to form 12x9-inch rectangle. Place folded sheet in prepared pan. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with 4 more folded sheets, brushing top of each folded sheet with butter. Sprinkle half of nut mixture over. Top with 1 folded pastry sheet and brush with butter. Repeat with 4 more folded sheets, brushing top of each with butter. Sprinkle remaining nut mixture over. Repeat with 5 more folded sheets, brushing top of each with butter. Using sharp knife, make 5 diagonal cuts across phyllo, cutting through top layers only and spacing cuts evenly. Repeat in opposite direction to form diamond pattern. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
• Strain rose syrup. Spoon 1 cup syrup over hot baklava; cover and chill remaining syrup. Recut baklava along lines all the way through layers. Let stand 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) Serve baklava with yogurt and remaining syrup.
• Available at Middle Eastern markets and specialty foods stores.

ALMOND BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Syrup:
• Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe container, and cook on high heat 1 minute. Stir and cook 1 more minute. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.
• Baklava:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place almonds in a food processor and process with sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt until almonds are roughly ground.
• Generously brush a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Add a couple of tablespoons of almond mixture. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, brushing every second sheet generously with butter and add 1 cup of the almond mixture, until 10 sheets of phyllo have been used, total. Brush top layer of phyllo with butter. Let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 6 equal squares, then cut each piece in half diagonally to make 12 triangles. Be sure to cut all the way through.
• Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. Cover when baklava is at room temperature. Do not chill.
• Baklava keeps in an air-tight container up to 1 week.

BAKLAVA WITH ROSE WATER

Steps:

• Make the syrup: Bring 2 cups water, the sugar and honey to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium low; simmer until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and rose water. Pour into a large liquid measuring cup or heatproof bowl and refrigerate until ready to use (or up to 1 day).
• Make the baklava: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees F. Pulse the nuts, confectioners' sugar and cinnamon in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the vanilla and salt.
• Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with melted butter. Trim the phyllo to 9 by 13 inches with kitchen shears (fig. A); cover with a damp towel. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo in the prepared baking dish and brush with butter. Repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet. Scatter about 3/4 cup of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo stack. Top with 2 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet, then top with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Repeat to make 2 more layers (use 2 sheets of buttered phyllo and 3/4 cup nut mixture for each layer), then top with the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet (fig. B). Scatter the remaining nut mixture on top.
• Cut the baklava into 32 triangles (fig. C). Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 40 minutes (tent with foil if the nuts are browning too quickly).
• Remove from the oven and pour the prepared syrup evenly over the top. Let the syrup soak in, at least 2 hours.

ALMOND FIG BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 175°C degrees (heat and timing are basing it on convection oven).
• Mix together the chopped figs, almonds. and cinnamon.
• You can use a 20×30 cm pan, brush some butter on the bottom and sides of pan to prevent sticking.
• Lay down a sheet of phyllo dough and brush with butter and water mixture (use the 60 ml water only if like soft baklava), repeat until you have layered 8 sheets.
• Sprinkle some of the fig and almond mixture over layers of dough.
• Repeat both steps until you run out of ingredients. Cover with 2 layers of dough.
• Cut into desired shapes (yes you are cutting before you bake).
• Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until top is nicely browned.
• When baklava is done, remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for 2 hours.
• Make the sauce by boiling 1/2 cup water and adding 1/2 cup sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved, add honey, and vanilla or orange peel.
• Pour the hot syrup evenly over the top of the baklava (remove the orange peel before), allowing it to run into the cuts and around the edges of the pan. Allow the pan to sit, uncovered until completely cool.
• Cover and store at room temperature for at least 8 hours and up to overnight before serving.

BAKLAVA WITH CARDAMOM AND ROSE WATER

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup sugar with 3/4 cup water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add honey, lemon juice, and rose water, continue simmering 2 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, shell the pistachios if they are not already shelled (you will need 9 oz after shelling). Chop finely (food processor is highly recommended). Combine the chopped nuts with 1 tbsp sugar, the cinnamon, and the cardamom in a bowl and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Trim the filo to lay flat in the bottom of a loaf pan. Melt the butter and brush the sides of the loaf pan with some of the melted butter. Add the first sheet of trimmed filo and brush it with butter. Continue adding sheets of filo and brushing with butter until 10 sheets have been added (brush the top sheet with butter too).
• Add half of the nut mixture and spread evenly on top of the filo.
• Place another sheet of filo on top of the nuts and carefully brush with butter (it will be loose, be careful you don't tear it). Repeat until you have 5 layers on top of the nut mixture.
• Add the rest of the nuts and spread evenly.
• Continue layering more filo and butter until you have about 10 sheets of filo on top of the nuts.
• Cut the baklava into 16 pieces by cutting in half the long way and then cutting into 8ths the short way.
• Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 F and bake another 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, re-cut the baklava, and then pour the sugar syrup on top of the baklava. Do this immediately, do not let the baklava cool before pouring on the syrup.
• Allow the baklava time to cool to room temperature (and to absorb the syrup) before eating. It should cool for at least an hour.

PISTACHIO, ALMOND, LEMON & ROSE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Mix the ground almonds and chopped pistachios in a bowl, reserving 3 tbsp of the pistachios to garnish. Stir in the finely grated lemon zest, the 3 tbsp of sugar and 5 tbsp of the melted butter. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the inside of a roasting or baking tin (30 x 20cm) with the butter.
• Whatever size of filo sheets you have, cut them to fit the tin. Lay one sheet of filo in it, butter it, and keep going until you have 6 sheets of filo. Spoon the nut mixture on top and press down with the back of a spoon, like making a biscuit base, then put 8 filo sheets on the top, again buttering each one. Using a sharp knife, cut a diamond trellis on top, then bake in the oven for 1 hr until golden brown.
• Make the syrup by putting the sugar, lemon juice and strips of zest into a saucepan with 250ml water. Bring to a boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 10 mins. The mixture will look quite syrupy. Remove the lemon zest and add the rosewater to taste.
• While the baklava and the syrup are still warm, pour the syrup carefully over the pastry. Return the baklava to the oven for 5 more mins.
• Sprinkle the remaining pistachios over the baklava, then leave to cool overnight - so that the baklava can absorb all the syrup. If you're making this for a special occasion, it's nice to scatter over some torn rose petals (they have to be small pieces) just before serving.