My Grandma's Baklava Recipe - Cooking Index
My Grandma's Baklava Recipe - Cooking Index
| Sugar Syrup | ||
| 2 1/2 cups | 495g / 17oz | Sugar |
| 2 cups | 474ml | Water |
| Juice and peel of 1/4 lemon | ||
| Nut Mixture | ||
| 2 1/2 cups | 365g / 12oz | Walnuts - finely chopped |
| 2 teaspoons | 10ml | Ground cinnamon |
| 1 | Nutmeg | |
| 1 1/4 cups | 247g / 8.7oz | Sugar |
| Assembly | ||
| 2 cups | 396g / 13oz | Butter - (4 sticks) |
| 3 tablespoons | 45ml | Shortening |
| 2 | Boxes filo dough - (1 lb ea) - see * Note, | |
| Thawed if frozen |
* Note: Filo sheets for baklava must be perfect, so Nahabedian suggests buying an extra box with which to replace any torn or damaged sheets.
For the sugar syrup, combine sugar and water in medium saucepan and bring to boil over low heat, 10 minutes. Remove from heat, squeeze in lemon juice and add peel (in one piece). Set aside to cool.
For the nut mixture, combine walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar and set aside.
To assemble, melt together butter and shortening. Brush bottom and sides of glass, ceramic or stainless steel 13- by 9-inch baking pan with some of butter mixture. Open box of filo dough. Cut dough in half so you have 2 piles of 13- by 9-inch sheets. Cover dough with slightly damp towel to keep from becoming dry and brittle.
Lay 1 sheet filo in pan and brush all over with butter mixture. Continue layering and buttering until 4 sheets are in pan. Trim edges to fit neatly in bottom of pan and scatter trimmings in center. Sprinkle top layer with about 1/4 cup nut mixture.
Add 2 sheets filo at a time, brushing each double layer with butter. Continue making layers, and sprinkle every 4th double layer filo with 1/4 cup nuts; you may have nuts left over. Continue until pan is filled. Top with 4 layers of filo, brushing each layer with butter mixture; reserve remaining butter mixture. Refrigerate Baklava 30 minutes.
Remove pan from refrigerator and with sharp knife cut pastry into 1 1/4- by 1 1/2-inch diamonds. Do so by cutting center diagonal first. Follow with vertical lines to make diamond shape. Sprinkle a little reserved butter mixture on top after cutting.
Bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until golden brown, 35 minutes longer. Half-way through baking, drizzle more butter mixture on top. Reserve any remaining butter mixture for another use. If Baklava browns too quickly, lower temperature to 300 degrees and cover pan loosely with foil.
Remove from oven, cool 10 minutes and then spoon cooled sugar syrup over each diamond. Repeat until most of syrup is used. Reserve remaining syrup to serve with Baklava, if desired. (Baklava may be completely baked in advance. In this case, do not add sugar syrup. At serving time, reheat in 250 degree oven 5 to 6 minutes, remove and pour cooled syrup over each diamond.)
This recipe yields 36 servings.
Each serving: 332 calories; 227 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.38 gram fiber.
Source:
The Los Angeles Times, 12-08-1999
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