Greek Baklava - (Baklavas)
It’s about time I gave you something sweet to prepare from the Mediterranean diet. This is such a good treat everyone will want you to make more on a regular basis. By the way, you are not meant to over indulge in this. One after meal time is satisfactory and only if you have done or are commited to your exercise for the day. This is VERY tasty and it serves 10 people.
HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS
Filling
* 500 gr. walnuts, coarsely chopped
* 60 gr. raw sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pastry
* 500 gr. fyllo pastry
* olive oil (unrefined)
Syrup
* 230 gr. raw sugar
* 300 ml water
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* some lemon peel
* 2 tablespoons honey
METHOD
Easy start - Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl.
Liberally ‘olive oil’ the base and sides of an elongated or round baking dish. Measure the length of the fyllo pastry against the baking dish approximately and, allowing 2 cm extra approximately for shrinkage, cut to length with a sharp knife. Brush each layer of fyllo with olive oil and spread over the base of the container as evenly as possible. After you have used 5 layers of pastry, sprinkle a thin layer of filling all over the surface and add 3 more layers. Sprinkle a thin layer of filling and place 2 more sheets of fyllo on top.
Sprinkle on all the remaining filling, spreading it evenly, and cover with 7-8 more layers of fyllo, brushing individually with butter. Fold any excess pastry on either of the sides over the filling and brush it with butter. Brush the top layer liberally with olive oil in order to get it crisp and golden. Trim any excess pastry with a small sharp knife, keeping in mind that it will also shrink a little. Cut the top layers of fyllo carefully, either diagonally into diamond shapes or straight, which will result in square or elongated pieces. Be sure not to cut right down to the base, but only the top layers. This is done in order to make cutting and lifting the pieces out, once it is cooked, much easier.
Using the tips of four fingers, sprinkle drops of water all over the surface and cook it in a preheated oven, gas no.5/ 375 grades F / 190 grades C, for 15 minutes; lower the heat to gas no.4/ 350 grades F/ l80 grades C and cook for a further 20 minutes.
While you’re waiting, prepare the syrup. Place all the syrup ingredients, apart from the honey, in a saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 6-8 minutes, add the honey and simmer for a further 5 minutes until it thickens slightly. Let the baklava cool down then pour the hot but not boiling syrup slowly all over, through a strainer. Let it stand and absorb the syrup.
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