Almond Pistachio Baklava Recipes

ALMOND PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups sugar, water, honey and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Cool., Preheat oven to 350°. Working in batches, combine pistachios and almonds in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining sugar; set aside. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter. Unroll one package of phyllo dough; cut stack into a 10-1/2x9-in. rectangle. Repeat with remaining phyllo. Discard scraps., Line bottom of prepared pan with two sheets of phyllo dough (sheets will overlap slightly). Brush with butter. Repeat layers 9 times. (Keep dough covered with a damp towel until ready to use to prevent it from drying out.) Sprinkle with a third of the nut mixture. , Top with 10 layers of buttered phyllo dough and a third of the nut mixture; repeat layers. Top with remaining phyllo dough, buttering each layer. , Using a sharp knife, cut into 1-1/2-in. diamond shapes. Bake until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack. Slowly pour cooled sugar syrup over baklava. Cover and let stand overnight.

PISTACHIO, ALMOND, LEMON & ROSE BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Mix the ground almonds and chopped pistachios in a bowl, reserving 3 tbsp of the pistachios to garnish. Stir in the finely grated lemon zest, the 3 tbsp of sugar and 5 tbsp of the melted butter. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the inside of a roasting or baking tin (30 x 20cm) with the butter.
• Whatever size of filo sheets you have, cut them to fit the tin. Lay one sheet of filo in it, butter it, and keep going until you have 6 sheets of filo. Spoon the nut mixture on top and press down with the back of a spoon, like making a biscuit base, then put 8 filo sheets on the top, again buttering each one. Using a sharp knife, cut a diamond trellis on top, then bake in the oven for 1 hr until golden brown.
• Make the syrup by putting the sugar, lemon juice and strips of zest into a saucepan with 250ml water. Bring to a boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then turn the heat down a little and simmer for 10 mins. The mixture will look quite syrupy. Remove the lemon zest and add the rosewater to taste.
• While the baklava and the syrup are still warm, pour the syrup carefully over the pastry. Return the baklava to the oven for 5 more mins.
• Sprinkle the remaining pistachios over the baklava, then leave to cool overnight - so that the baklava can absorb all the syrup. If you're making this for a special occasion, it's nice to scatter over some torn rose petals (they have to be small pieces) just before serving.

PISTACHIO AND ALMOND BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Thaw phyllo dough overnight in the fridge, then bring it up to room temperature by setting it on the counter for 1-2 hours.
• Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking dish so you have approximately 40 sheets. (I use a 9x13) Cover with a damp towel. Make sure you keep the dough covered as you work with each sheet to keep from drying out and become brittle.
• In a saucepan on medium-high heat, combine sugar, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, ground cardamom or pod, orange strips and water. Bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and let it simmer for 2-3 minute Remove from heat, let it steep for 10 minutes then strain into a measuring cup or bowl and let syrup cool while preparing baklava.
• Butter a 9x13 pan or any other pan you are using. I clarify my butter for this recipe which is just a personal preference. Melt your butter, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, skim the foam off the top and carefully pour off the clear liquid gold off the milk solids on the bottom. Easy peasy. .
• Chop your nuts either with a knife or by pulsing 10-15 times in a food processor until coarsley ground and put in a bowl. Add the cinnamon and cardamom and stir together. Reserve about 1/4 cup for decorating later.
• Time to start layering and buttering! Depending on your sheet count you need to calculate how many sheets per layer. The number of phyllo versus nut layers are up to you but it's important to have a decent base to hold your nut layers so take that into consideration when calculating.
• For 4 layers of nuts use 1 cup per layer, for 5 layers of nuts use 3/4 cups per layer. Your base should be at least have 8-10 sheets of phyllo. Here's my breakdown for 36-40 sheets of phyllo.
• 8-10 sheets for the base.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 4-5 Sheets.
• Nuts.
• 8-10 Sheets.
• Each phyllo sheet needs to be brushed liberally (but not dripping) with butter in the pan before laying the next sheet on top . (Tip: I drizzle butter all over each sheet then brush. I find it makes it easier).
• Chill the baklava for 30-45 minutes as it will make cutting it much easier. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and have the lowest rack in the middle and the second one 2 rungs above that one.
• Cut your baklava into square or diamond shapes. Some people only score the top but I cut right through.
• Total baking time is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Place you pan on the lowest rack for the first 45 minutes, turning the pan half way through. Move it to the higher rack for the last 30 minutes or until golden brown all over.
• Have your cooling rack and syrup ready because you'll be pouring the syrup the second it comes out of the oven. The cooling rack is important as the air circulation underneath as it cools prevents the bottom from getting soggy.
• Take your baklava out of the oven and immediately drizzle or spoon all the syrup all over the top. You'll hear it sizzle but this is a good thing. Put a little mound of the reserved nuts on each diamond.
• Let it sit for at least 8 hours or overnight so all the syrup soaks inches It can be kept on the counter with a tea towel over it or in an air tight container for about a week, but really.who has a pan of baklava last a week!

PISTACHIO HAZELNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, toss together the pistachio nuts, hazelnuts, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 cup sugar.
• Unroll thawed phyllo pastry, and cover with a damp towel to prevent drying and cracking. Brush a 10x15-inch jellyroll pan with melted butter using a pastry brush. Lay one sheet of pastry onto the buttered pan, and brush with more butter. Repeat until there are 8 buttered sheets of dough stacked. Sprinkle some of the nut mixture over this layer, then cover with 3 more layers of pastry, each brushed with butter. Sprinkle more of the nut mixture, then 3 layers of buttered pastry. Repeat this pattern until the nut mixture is gone, reserving 8 layers of pastry for the top. Each time a layer of pastry is added, it must be brushed with the melted butter.
• Cut the pastry into strips, then into diamonds. Pieces should be somewhat small because they are so sweet. At this point, each piece may be studded with a whole clove. Heat the remaining melted butter until boiling, and drizzle it evenly over the whole pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until evenly golden, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• While the pastry is baking, combine the remaining 3 cups sugar, water, honey, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• When the pastry comes out of the oven, immediately pour the syrup evenly over the entire pan. Be careful when pouring; the hot syrup may cause the butter in the pastry to boil up and splatter. Allow baklava to cool to room temperature before serving. Remove whole cloves from pieces before eating.

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely ground (or you can chop them by hand until very finely chopped). Don't overprocess the nuts. You want to maintain some texture.
• Clarify the butter by melting it over low heat, then letting it cook until the foam rises to the top and the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan. This will take about 5 to 15 minutes depending upon how high your heat is, but don't rush it or the butter could burn.
• Skim foam off the top of the melted butter. Line a fine-mesh sieve with a piece of cheesecloth, place it over a bowl and pour the melted butter through.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and brush the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a little of the clarified butter.
• Prepare the phyllo dough by trimming the stack of it with scissors to fit the bottom of your baking dish. Packages of phyllo come in different sizes; some won't need any trimming, some may need an inch or two cut off a side, and some may need to be cut in half crosswise. Cover phyllo layers with a lightly damp kitchen towel, and keep covered.
• Place 1 piece of phyllo on the bottom of the baking pan; brush lightly with clarified butter. Layer phyllo sheets on top, brushing each sheet with butter as you go, until half the phyllo is used.
• Spread pistachios on phyllo in an even layer, then layer with remaining phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter as you go (rewarm butter if necessary).
• Cut the pastry into 36 pieces, using clean up-and-down strokes and rotating the pan if necessary. Make sure to cut all the way through to bottom of pan. Pour any remaining butter evenly over pan.
• Bake baklava until the top is golden brown, and the lower phyllo layers beneath the pistachios are thoroughly baked through. To test this, use a knife to lift up a corner of one of the pastry rectangles from the center of the pan so you can peek at the bottom layers. Start checking after 40 minutes, but it could take an hour or even 1 hour 10 minutes. If the top starts to get too brown before the pastry is cooked through, lay a piece of foil over the top.
• Meanwhile, prepare sugar syrup: In a medium pot, combine sugar with 1 2/3 cups/400 milliliters water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in lemon juice.
• When the baklava is baked through, reheat the syrup until it comes to a simmer. Remove pan from oven and place in the sink or on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips of syrup. Slowly pour hot sugar syrup over the pastry; it will bubble up and some may overflow. When the syrup stops bubbling, move pan to wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.