Recipe 22/50 : Turkey : Baklava

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Baklava is a rich,sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry with chopped nuts and sweetened syrup. The history of baklava is not well documented, but there is a strong evidence that it is of central Asian Turkic origin. Pistachio baklava is very famous in Turkey. This is one the best desserts I ever had. 

Ingredients

1 packet filo pastry

1 cup butter melted

For the filling

1 cup unsalted pistachios

1/4 cup sugar

For the syrup

13 oz Honey

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 350F

1. Place the pistachios and sugar into a food processor and process to medium texture.

2. Brush 9"*11" baking tray with butter.

3. Carefully lay one sheet of filo pastry into the pan and brush the inside with butter.

4. Fold in 6 sheets of filo sheet and brush with butter each time you fold the sheet. [ Cut down extra sheet from the edges of the pan]

5. Spread on one half of nut mixture, then place 2 more sheets on top according step 3 & 4.

6. Spread the remianing nuts on the pastry. Layer another 5 sheets of pastry on top according to steps 3 & 4.

7. With a sharp knife, cut the top layer of pastry to mark out the final baklava.

8. Bake  for 20 minutes

9. Prepare the syrup by adding the syrup ingredients into a pan with 1 cup of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes to reduce volume.Turn of heat and allow to cool completely.

10. Remove Baklava from the oven,cover with baking foil and bake for 10-15 minutes

11. Remove baklava from the oven, remove the foil and pour on the cold syrup. You may not need tp add all syrup.

Allow to cool, cut down and serve!!!

Sending this recipe to Any One Can Cook by Ayeesha