Source: The Doubleday Cookbook by: J. Anderson & E. Hanna
Makes 30 servings.
Preparation time: 1:30 hours
Baklava
Nut and Phyllo Pastry
Ingredients
Preparation
1 pound phyllo dough pastry leaves at room temperature
1 1/2 cups melted unsalted butter, about. No substitute
FILLING:
1 pound nuts, chopped fine, see note (1& 2)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon powder cinnamon
SYRUP:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup honey
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice (more or less to taste)
2 1" strip lemon rind
1 cinnamon stick (to boil with syrup)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Mix filling ingredients in a bowl. Butter a 13"x9"x2" baking dish.
3. Unroll pastry sheets and separate into 3 stacks of equal height.
4. Using the first stack or about 1/3 of the phyllo sheets, work with one or two sheets at a time, fold sheet in half, place in prepared baking dish and brush every second sheet with melted butter.
5. Using the second stack of phyllo sheets, continue to stack them brushing in between, this time adding a scatter layer of the mixed filling so that it is distributed among the middle stack of sheets.
Or, scatter 1/3 of it over pastry stack in pan; top with half of the sheets from the second stack, brushing every other one with butter. Sprinkle with another 1/3 filling, top with remaining sheets from second stack, again brush with butter. Sprinkle the remaining filling. I prefer to distribute the filling between many layers rather than in three lumps.
6. Top with the third stack of pastry sheets, again brushing every second sheet with butter.
7. With a sharp knife, cut Baklava into 30 squares, see note (3) for shape options.
8. Melt remaining butter, then pour evenly over pastry.
9. Bake on center rack 1/2 hour at 350 F degrees. Reduce oven to 300 F degrees and bake 1/2 hour longer. Meanwhile, prepare syrup.
10. Preparing syrup: Heat and stir all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until sugar dissolves, then boil slowly 20 minutes. Strain syrup and pour over Baklava as soon as it comes from the oven. Serve warm or cold.
NOTE: 1) A mixture of 3/4 pound pecans + 1/4 pound almonds works well. You may also use walnuts instead of pecans.
2) You may use a blender or coffee grinder to chop nuts, do not over blend or it will be pasty. Some texture pieces are desired. If you have the time, chop by hand.
3) SHAPE OPTIONS:
a) Diamonds, cut strips length wise about 2" wide. Then cut strips diagonally (45 degree angle) to form diamond shape pieces.
b) Triangles, cut squares about 3"x3". Then cut diagonally to cut each square into 2 triangles.
c) Lady fingers: using one sheet of phyllo at a time, fold in half, butter and place filling along one edge of pastry. roll to make a log. Place logs side by side in baking pan. Cut across logs about every 3" to form fingers. Proceed as general directions.
