Baklava

Baklava is a rich and heavenly sweet dish traditionally prepared in large baking trays with layer upon layer of flaky golden sheets of filo pastry. The addition of butter, nuts and syrup make this sweet treat a complete pleasure for both the eyes and the taste buds.

(recipe and image produced by the ‘Welcome to Palestine’ team)

Ingredients

Serves 6 – Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Baklava:
150g Pistachios
150g Walnuts
100g Pine Nuts
400g Filo Pastry
220g Butter
50g Sugar
1 Tsp of Ground Cinnamon

Syrup:
200ml of Water
200g of Sugar
100ml of Honey
2 Tbsp of Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp of Orange Juice
1 Cinnamon Stick
Orange Peel

Instructions

Lightly grease a 9”x 13” baking tray with butter and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Crush or process the nuts until they are small and even but not powdered. Mix in the ground cinnamon and sugar.

In a separate bowl, melt the butter on a low heat. Cut the filo pastry in half so it fits the tray. Place a sheet of filo in the tray and brush the sheet with melted butter. Repeat the layers until you have 6 in total.

Spoon over a thin layer of the nut mixture and place 2 more pastry sheets with brushed butter in between every layer of pastry. Continue this process until all the nut mixture is used and finish with 2 final layers of buttered pastry.

Cut into 24 equal squares and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top begins to turn golden.

Whilst the baklava is in the oven add the water, sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, peel, honey and cinnamon stick into a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce it to a medium heat and simmer for 8 minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly.

Take off the heat and remove the cinnamon stick and orange peel being sure to keep the orange peel in a separate bowl for later. Spoon the mixture evenly over the baklava and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Serve with a small piece of sweetened orange peel and a drizzle of natural yogurt.