Greek Baklava Food

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a 21cm x 21cm square cake tin with butter. Chop the nuts into small pieces using a food processor, taking care not to blitz them to a paste. Put them into a bowl, stir in the honey and a pinch of salt and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Cut the first pack of filo pastry sheets in half (so that they fit the tin). Put one sheet in the tin and brush with the melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and brush with butter again, keep layering like this until the whole pack is used up.
• Spread the honey and nut mixture over the pastry and press it down lightly with the back of a spoon. Open the other pack of filo, cut in half and continue the layering and buttering process. When you reach the last sheet pour any remaining butter over the top to finish. Use a sharp knife to cut deep lines into the pastry to create either squares or diamond shapes then bake in the oven for 20 mins.
• Reduce the heat to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and bake for a further 45 mins. While the baklava cooks put all the syrup ingredients into a saucepan and add 200ml water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then boil the mixture for 8-10 mins or until it has reduced to the consistency of runny honey.
• When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour the warm syrup over the top, allowing it to run into the lines you have cut. Leave it to soak in and serve when it's completely cold.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Make syrup first so that it can come to room temperature: In a small saucepan, combine honey, sugar and water. Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Add lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and peels and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove peels and cinnamon sticks and allow to come to room temperature before using.
• Combine walnuts, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and 3 tablespoons melted butter together in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Place phyllo between sheets of waxed paper and cover with a slightly damp towel to prevent phyllo from drying out. Brush bottom and sides of an 18x12-inch inch pan generously with melted butter.
• Place 8 phyllo sheets into bottom of pan, brushing each sheet generously with butter. Take an additional 4 sheets of phyllo and place in pan allowing sheets to drape over each of the 4 sides of pan. Brush these with melted butter.
• Spread 2 cups of nut mixture into pan, distributing evenly over bottom. Fold over the overlapping phyllo sheets brushing each with butter, to envelop the nut mixture.
• Repeat layering process 2 more times to form 3 nut layers.
• Top pastry with remaining phyllo dough and generously brush top layer with melted butter. Tuck in the buttered phyllo neatly around.
• Score through top layers of pastry with a sharp knife making 6 strips lengthwise then cut 10 strips diagonally to form diamond shaped pieces. Stud each diamond-shaped piece (and any odd looking ones near the ends of the pan) in the centre with a whole clove per piece. Pour remaining melted butter over pastry and lightly sprinkle some water on top too (wet your hand under the tap twice and shake this out over the pastry).
• Bake pastry in a 325°F oven for 1 hour to 75 minutes, until nicely golden-brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully spoon cool syrup over seam in pastry. Allow to stand at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut through the scored pieces and serve.
• Note: The clove studding each piece is not traditionally eaten, it is removed by the person whose piece it is before eating. The clove is there to add its 'perfume' to the piece as it bakes (and it looks pretty, too).

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough completely by placing it in the fridge overnight, then letting the package of phyllo sit, unopened, on the counter for 1 hour prior to making your baklava so it can come all the way to room temperature.
• Butter the bottom and sides of a large rectangular 9x13-inch baking dish. Trim phyllo to fit in the dish, if necessary. I have seen 16 oz. pkgs. of phyllo that come with either 18 large sheets in one roll or 40 smaller sheets in 2 rolls. Either works, so long as you have 16 oz. of phyllo. I just cut the 18 large sheets in half down the middle to fit, giving 36 sheets. The 40 smaller sheets might just need to be trimmed slightly around the edges. Keep trimmed dough covered in a damp cloth so it doesn't dry out.
• Chop walnuts in a food processor by pulsing 10-12 times until coarsely ground or chop with a knife until very finely chopped. Stir together the walnuts and cinnamon until combined.

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325. Layer half of the sheets of phyllo one sheet at a time, in a greased 11x7x2 baking pan, brushing each sheet evenly with butter and folding ends over if necessary to fit into pan.
• Keep unused sheets covered with plastic wrap while assembling baklava to prevent drying.
• Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar and cinnamon; stir in walnuts.
• Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over buttered phyllo in pan.
• Layer remaining phyllo, one sheet at a time, over nut mixture, brushing each sheet evenly with butter.
• Cut diagonally into squares, cutting completely through all layers.
• Bake in preheated oven until crisp and golden, about one hour.
• Combine remaining sugar, the water, lemon juice and honey in small saucepan; cook and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.
• Heat to boiling; pour evenly over hot baklava.
• Let stand loosely covered 8 hours or overnight.

CLASSIC GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9 by 13-inch pan.
• Mix the nuts with cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup of melted butter. Set aside. Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cut the whole stack in half to fit the pan. Cover the phyllo with a dampened clean kitchen towel to keep the phyllo from drying out as you work. Lay 2 phyllo sheets in the pan and using a brush, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 6 sheets layered. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups nut mixture on top. Layer with 2 phyllo sheets, brush with butter and add nuts to end up with 4 layers of nuts and dough. The top layer should be about 6 to 8 phyllo sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife, cut diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut 4 long rows then make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make the sauce while the baklava is baking. Boil the water and remaining sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the honey and vanilla. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the sauce over it. Let cool.
• In the meantime, place the grapes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the grapes start to burst.
• Serve the baklava with Greek yogurt, the baked grapes and a drizzle of honey and crushed walnuts.
• Cook's Notes: Walnuts can be replaced by any kind of nuts or a combination of nuts.
• Phyllo pastry is available in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Grease a 17cm x 28cm (11in x 7in) baking tray with butter.
• Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat or in a microwave.
• Lay 10 sheets of filo pastry, one at a time, into the tray, brushing each sheet with butter before adding the next.
• In a clean bowl, mix together the nuts, sugar and cardamom and spread the mixture over the pastry in the tray.
• Layer up the remaining sheets on top of the nut mixture, brushing each sheet with butter, as before.
• Using a sharp knife, cut a criss-cross pattern into the top layers of the pastry.
• Place baklava in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 150C/300F/Gas 2 and cook for an additional half hour to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is slightly puffed and golden on top. Do not allow the top to burn. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
• For the syrup, heat the sugar, water, lemon juice and orange blossom water in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over a medium heat until the sugar has melted and a syrup is formed. (This will take about 20 minutes or so.)
• Pour the syrup into the slits in the baklava and leave to cool. Cut into small diamond-shaped pieces and serve.

GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
• Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
• Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
• Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

BAKLAVA RECIPE- HOW TO MAKE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat stove-top, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add the honey, orange extract if using, and whole cloves; stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and let cool to lukewarm. Add lemon juice. Remove the whole cloves.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add the pistachios, walnut, and hazelnuts. Pulse a few times to chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix well to combine.
• Unroll the thawed phyllo pastry and place the sheets in between two clean kitchen towels. This will help keep the phyllo from breaking while you work.
• Prepare a 9"x 13"x 2" baking pan. Brush the interior of the baking pan with some of the melted butter. To assemble the baklava, take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the pan (for this size pan, I typically fold my phyllo sheet in half, and it fits perfectly. You can also do a bit of trimming using a pair of kitchen shears). Brush the top of the phyllo sheet with the melted butter.
• Repeat this process a few more times until you have used up about 1/3 of the phyllo pastry, each layer being brushed with the melted butter.
• Now, distribute about ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
• Continue assembling the baklava, one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time using another 1/3 of the phyllo. Again, brush each layer with a bit of the melted butter.
• Distribute the remaining ½ of the nut mixture evenly over the top layer of phyllo.
• Finish the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo pastry following the same process, laying one folded sheet at a time and brushing each layer with melted butter. Brush the very top sheet of phyllo with butter.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 24 diamond shaped pieces (you can get up to 36 smaller pieces). (Review the tutorial above to see how I cut baklava).
• Place the baking dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes or until the top of the baklava turns golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. (IMPORTANT...Because ovens vary, be sure to check your baklava half-way through baking).
• As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled syrup all over the hot baklava.
• Allow baklava to sit for a few hours before serving or for at least 1 hour. Cut through the earlier marked pieces. Serve with a garnish of chopped pistachios, if you like.

TRADITIONAL GREEK BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Mix the walnuts, breadcrumbs and cinnamon. Butter your baking pan (large enough to lay out the pastry while lining the sides of the pan as well) and place 5 sheets of the pastry on the bottom, 1 by 1, buttering each individually as you place it on the bottom. Cover the remaining phyllo sheets with a slightly damp kitchen towel for the time being so they do not dry out.
• With a large spoon evenly spread 1/2 the nut filling over all the pastry. Cover the filling with another 3 sheets of phyllo pastry, again individually buttering each as you place it. Evenly spoon on the remaining 1/2 of the nut mixture and place another 5 sheets of phyllo pastry on top, again buttering each individually as you place it. Pat the top pastry sheets down very gently and cut away any excess round the edges with a very sharp knife.
• Cut the Baklava into triangle servings. Place a clove on every 3rd or so piece, puncturing the pastry with the stem of the clove. Bake the Baklava in a well preheated oven at 180ºC - 350ºF for 1 hour approximately or until the pastry is golden. Remove the Baklava from the oven.
• Prepare the syrup by boiling the water, sugar and juice of your preference in a saucepan over a gentle flame, stirring with a whisk, for about 10 minutes and then allow the syrup to cool. Pour the syrup onto the Baklava (cold syrup - hot Baklava). When the Baklava absorbs the syrup it is normal for the top layer of pastry to remain crispy. Allow the Baklava to cool and then knock yourself out -- the edges are extra delicious --
• *** Under no circumstances should an oven fan be used while baking the Baklava. It will burn the top pastry layers and edges within minutes.

AUTHENTIC GREEK STYLE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a large size saucepan, combine 2 cups of sugar, the water, salt, honey, lemon juice, a cinnamon stick and 4 whole cloves, bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a gentle boil for 15 minutes. Then remove the cinnamon stick and the cloves from the water mixture. Set mixture aside and let cool completely.
• In a small size skillet, spray with a nonstick cooking spray. Place on medium heat and add finely chopped almonds, stir until lightly golden. Remove from heat and toss them with the chopped pistachios and add 1/2 teaspoon salt, toss again to coat evenly with the salt and set aside.
• Remove the phyllo dough from the freezer and let sit inside of its own wrappers for 30 minutes to thaw.
• Gently unroll the phyllo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle while working. Once thawed, remove 8 phyllo sheets, fold, cover and refrigerate them for the top layer, and cover remaining sheets that you will be working with and set aside, covered.
• In a small size skillet, melt 3 1/2 sticks of butter on low heat, keep warm while layering baklava.
• Using a pastry brush, brush a 15 1/2 by 11 1/2 by 3 inch baking dish (lasagna pan) with some of the melted butter. Lay 2 phyllo sheets on the bottom of the pan, brush with butter, and repeat, using a total of 8 sheets for the first layer. Then sprinkle a handful of the nut mixture over the top of the phyllo sheets. Layer 4 more phyllo sheets, brushing each layer with butter, and sprinkle again with a handful of the nut mixture. Continue until all the phyllo sheets and nuts are used, being sure to brush each sheet with butter as you layer. Use the reserved 8 sheets of phyllo for the last top layer.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using a long, very sharp knife, cut the baklava into small squares, or for a more elegant look, diamond shapes. For the diamond shapes: First make 6 evenly spaced lengthwise cuts. Cut straight down until the tip of the knife touches the bottom of the pan, and keeping the knife straight, cut in a straight line all the way to the other end. Next, cut diagonally across the lengthwise cuts to form diamond shapes, starting in one corner and making cuts until you reach the opposite corner.
• Heat up the remaining butter until it slightly bubbles, then pour it evenly over the top of the pastry. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until evenly golden and flaky. Remove from the oven and spoon the cooled syrup evenly over the entire pastry. Cool in the pan, then serve pieces individually, placing them in decorative paper cups if desired.
• Makes: About 64 pieces.