Marthas Baklava Food

THOMAS JOSEPH'S BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix together nuts, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon rose water, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon; set aside.
• Place remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/4 cups water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining tablespoon rose water and return to a boil; cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let syrup cool completely.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with clarified butter. Carefully layer half of the phyllo dough in the baking dish, brushing between each layer with clarified butter. Sprinkle nut mixture over top and continue layering remaining phyllo dough over nut mixture, brushing between each layer with clarified butter.
• Brush top layer generously with butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), score baklava into 1 1/2-inch-wide diamond-shaped pieces, cutting through all of the phyllo layers.
• Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 50 minutes more. Remove from oven and pour syrup over baklava; let cool completely before serving.

WALNUT-AND-HONEY BAKLAVA

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.

MARTHA'S BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together nuts, 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon rose water, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Place remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining tablespoon rose water and return to boil; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and let syrup cool completely.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with clarified butter. Carefully layer half the phyllo dough in baking dish, brushing between each layer with clarified butter. Sprinkle nut mixture over top and continue layering remaining phyllo dough over nut mixture, brushing between each layer with clarified butter.
• Brush top layer generously with clarified butter. Using a sharp knife with a very thin blade (such as a boning knife), score baklava into 1 1/2-inch-wide diamond-shaped pieces, cutting through all phyllo layers.
• Transfer to oven and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking until golden brown, about 50 minutes more. Remove from oven and pour syrup over baklava; let cool completely before serving.

HOMEMADE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the almonds, pistachios, 2/3 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon ground cardamom in a medium bowl; stir to combine.
• Brush a 10-by-13-inch baking dish with clarified butter. Lay one half-sheet of phyllo in the prepared dish, and brush with clarified butter. Repeat with five more sheets of phyllo, brushing them with butter and stacking them in dish.
• Sprinkle one-third of the nut mixture over the phyllo, and top with the remaining six sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with clarified butter before adding the next. Repeat two times, until all the nuts and phyllo are used.
• Using a very sharp knife, cut phyllo stack lengthwise into seven strips. Cut across strips diagonally, 1 1/4 inches, apart to make diamonds. Pour the remaining clarified butter over the pastry. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Place remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar and the water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon cardamom; continue to boil for 10 minutes until syrup has thickened slightly. Remove from heat, and stir in the lemon juice and rose water. Pour over the baked pastry.

BAKLAVA WITH LEMON-HONEY SYRUP

Steps:

• Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir together sugar, honey, 3/4 cup water, zest and juice, corn syrup, and cinnamon sticks. Heat over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and cook, without stirring, until syrup thickens slightly and registers 230 degrees on a candy thermometer. Let cool completely; discard zest and cinnamon sticks. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Syrup can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.
• Filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, finely grind all nuts. Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt; pulse just to combine. Transfer to a bowl.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Trim phyllo sheets to just fit inside baking dish(each about 8 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches). Lay phyllo flat on a work surface; cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying out. Place a sheet in prepared dish; brush generously with melted butter. Repeat with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter before laying down next. Spread 1 cup filling evenly over top, then top with 5 more phyllo sheets, buttering each layer. Spread 1 cup fillingover top, followed by 5 morebuttered phyllo sheets. Spreadremaining filling over phyllo; finishwith 7 buttered phyllo sheets.
• Using a long, sharp knife, cut lengthwise all the way through layers at 2-inch intervals. Makediagonal cuts across strips to form 2-inch diamonds, again cutting all the way through layers. Pierce each diamond with a whole clove.
• Using your fingers, lightly sprinkle top of pastry with cold water (to prevent curling). Bake, rotating dish once, until baklava is deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and recut through all lines. Pour syrup over top, saturating fully; let cool at least 4 hours beforeserving. Baklava can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature up to 1 week.

ROLLED BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 9-by-9-inch pan with melted butter. Set aside.
• Combine almonds, walnuts, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Place one sheet of phyllo on a flat work surface. Brush with melted butter. Fold the long sides in to form a 9 1/2-by-15-inch rectangle. Brush folded edges with butter. Place a second piece of phyllo over first sheet, and gather it like a curtain to fit inside rectangle. Brush with butter.
• Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture over the bottom one-third of the phyllo rectangle. Fold phyllo over to cover nuts. Brush folded phyllo with butter. Spread 1/4 cup nuts in a 1-inch-wide line parallel to, and about 1 inch from, the edge of pastry. Fold over once to cover nuts. Roll like a cigar almost to the end. Fold in ragged edges, and brush them with butter. Finish rolling, and fold ends under. Place seam-side down in prepared pan. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling, laying each roll next to the other so they are touching. Cut rolls crosswise into 21 pieces total (drag knife through a second time to assure a clean cut).
• Transfer to oven, and bake until crust and nuts are evenly golden, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and cool for 10 minutes. Pour cool Honey Syrup over pastry; it will come about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Let sit until most of the liquid is absorbed and nuts are saturated, about 30 minutes.

CINNAMON-WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups sugar, lemon juice, and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sugar dissolves and mixture is syrupy, about 10 minutes. Set syrup aside.
• In a food processor, pulse walnuts with cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground. Set walnut filling aside.
• Place stack of thawed phyllo sheets on a work surface. Using a sharp knife, trim stack into a 13-by-9-inch rectangle; discard trimmings. Place 1 sheet of trimmed phyllo in prepared baking dish (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp cloth or paper towel). Brush gently with butter; repeat with two more sheets of phyllo, laying each on top of the other. (You now have a 3-sheet stack of buttered phyllo.)
• Sprinkle phyllo stack in dish with 1/3 cup walnut filling. Repeat with 7 more buttered phyllo stacks, sprinkling each with walnut filling. Top with one more stack; brush generously with butter.
• Using a sharp knife, cut unbaked baklava into 24 squares. Bake until puffed and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; pour syrup over baklava. Let stand at room temperature until syrup is absorbed, at least 3 hours.

ROLLED BAKLAVA WITH GOLDEN RAISINS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine nuts, cinnamon, cloves, and dried fruit. Add brandy; combine well with your fingers.
• Lay 1 sheet of phyllo horizontally on a work surface; brush with butter. Lay another sheet of phyllo on top; brush with butter. Halve horizontally. Spoon 1/4 cup nut filling over bottom of each stack; roll each, tightly forming long rolls. Transfer to a baking sheet; brush rolls with butter. Repeat with remaining 2 sheets of phyllo.
• Open the package of kadaifi dough, and spread 1 1/8 cups (1 1/4 ounces) on a work surface. Reseal package so dough doesn't dry out. Wrap kadaifi dough all the way around one log; place on the baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with remaining 3 logs and kadaifi dough. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While pastries are baking, bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Let pastries cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle with sugar syrup and slice into 1-inch pieces.