Pistachio Baklava With Honey And Rose Water Recipes

HONEY PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Make sure the filo pastry is thawed - keep wrapped to prevent drying out.
• Preheat the oven to 170 C / 340 F
• Melt butter and cool to room temperature
• In a saucepan - combine sugar, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, rose water, and water.
• Boil on medium-low until sugar is dissolved.
• Once all the sugar is dissolved - let simmer on low for 5 minutes.
• Sieve through a strainer to remove zest and cinnamon stick.
• Set aside to cool completely
• Pulse the pistachio nuts in a food processor.
• Remove some while still coarse and pulse the remainig some more for a finer consistency. This will add a nice texture and taste.
• Add sugar and combine well. Set aside
• Use an 8 x 10 rectangular pan or 10 x 10-inch square pan
• Lightly brush with melted butter.
• Cut the stack of filo into 4. Now you have 12 filo sheets. Measure the filo to your pan and cut off any excess.
• Place the first sheet of filo in the pan.
• Lightly brush with melted butter.
• Continue to add 5 sheets - lightly brushing with melted butter
• Sprinkle 1/4 of the pistachio mixture
• Now add 3 layers of filo lightly brush each with melted butter
• Followed by another 1/4 of the pistachio mixture.
• Continue layering 3 filo and pistachio - until you have used up all the pistachio mixture
• Finally, add the last 5 layers of filo for the top
• So you should have 5 filo sheets + nuts then 3 filo sheets + nuts, then 3 filo sheets + nuts again 3 filo sheets + nuts and final 5 filo sheets. (this doesn't have to be exact)
• Brush the last and top of the filo with any remaining melted butter - this will give a nice golden top.
• Using a sharp knife cut the layers into squares.
• I prefer to cut a line in the middle in both directions and then cut more on either side of those lines
• Place the baklava in the preheated oven and bake until golden for about 30 minutes
• Once the baklava has been baked let cool in the pan for 5 minutes
• Then pour the prepared cooled sugar/honey syrup evenly over the top
• This will soak into the layers while the baklava is cooling.
• This baklava will stay at room temperature for up to a week
• I personally don't like to keep in the fridge as the butter cools making it dry.
• You can freeze baklava for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge overnight then on the countertop before you serve.

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH HONEY AND ROSE WATER

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar, honey and lemon juice until it comes to the boil and cook for a minute. Now add the orange blossom and rose waters, boil for a few seconds, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool before using on the baklava.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Grind the nuts. We want them to be medium-fine - if they are ground too finely, the resulting filling will be very dense. Combine with the sugar and cinnamon, then add the orange blossom and rose waters and mix well. Set aside.
• In a dish (I used one 21 x 28cm), brush the base with a little melted butter, then add a sheet of filo. Brush with butter, then add another sheet. Brush with butter, and continue until you have six sheets of filo in the dish. Add the filling, and spread out. Be gentle so you don't break the pastry. Now add the rest of the pastry, in each case adding a layer, brushing with melted butter, then adding the next. Finish by brushing the sixth sheet with butter.
• Cut the baklava into pieces - long rectangles, diamonds, squares, or whatever whimsical shapes take your fancy. Do this carefully with a sharp knife and make sure to go all the way through to the base. You might want to leave a border of "scrap" baklava where the pastry is a bit untidy at the edges. This means the final result is neater, and as the cook, you get to enjoy this "angel's share".
• Bake the baklava for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. When done, remove from the oven, allow it to sit for a minute, then pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Be sure to get the syrup in between each cut. If you see syrup forming pools in some areas, don't worry - it will all be absorbed.
• Allow the baklava to cool fully before serving. Decorate with chopped pistachios and dried pomegranate seeds(**).
• (*) By this, I mean the lightly aromatic rose water. If you have the much more intense rose extract, then use just a few drops and not a whole tablespoon!
• (**) To dry pomegranate seeds - remove the red seeds from the white pith, and spread on a non-stick baking tray. Leave in the oven at 60°C (140°F) for several hours until the seeds are dry. They will remain slightly sticky but should keep their colour and not turn brown.

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH CARDAMOM AND ROSE WATER

Steps:

• . For the sugar syrup: Combine syrup ingredients, except rosewater, in small saucepan and bring to full boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure that sugar dissolves. Transfer to 2-cup measuring cup and set aside to cool while making and baking baklava; when syrup is cool, discard peppercorns and stir in rosewater. (Cooled syrup can be refrigerated in airtight container up to 4 days.).
• Nut filling: Pulse pistachios in food processor until very finely chopped, about fifteen 1-second pulses; transfer to bowl. Measure out 1 tablespoon nuts and set aside for garnish. Add ground cardamom, sugar, and salt; toss well to combine.
• To assemble and bake: Brush 13- by 9-inch traditional (not nonstick) baking pan with butter. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Unwrap and unfold phyllo on large cutting board; carefully smooth with hands to flatten. Using baking pan as guide, cut sheets crosswise with chef's knife, yielding two roughly evenly sized stacks of phyllo (one may be narrower than other). Cover with plastic wrap, then damp kitchen towel to prevent drying.
• Place one phyllo sheet (from wider stack) in bottom of baking pan and brush until completely coated with butter. Repeat with 7 more phyllo sheets (from wider stack), brushing each with butter.
• Evenly distribute about 1 cup nuts over phyllo. Cover nuts with phyllo sheet (from narrower stack) and dab with butter (phyllo will slip if butter is brushed on). Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets (from narrower stack), staggering sheets slightly if necessary to cover nuts, and brushing each with butter. Repeat layering with additional 1 cup nuts, 6 sheets phyllo, and remaining 1 cup nuts. Finish with 8 to 10 sheets phyllo (from wider stack), using nicest and most intact sheets for uppermost layers and brushing each except final sheet with butter. Following illustration 6, use palms of hands to compress layers, working from center outward to press out any air pockets. Spoon 4 tablespoons butter on top layer and brush to cover all surfaces. Following illustration 7, use bread knife or other serrated knife with pointed tip in gentle sawing motion to cut baklava into diamonds, rotating pan as necessary to complete cuts. (Cut on bias into eighths on both diagonals.).
• Bake until golden and crisped, about 1 ½ hours, rotating baking pan halfway through baking. Immediately after removing baklava from oven, pour cooled syrup over cut lines until about 2 tablespoons remain (syrup will sizzle when it hits hot pan); drizzle remaining syrup over surface. Garnish center of each piece with pinch of reserved ground nuts. Cool to room temperature on wire rack, about 3 hours, then cover with foil and let stand at least 8 hours before serving. (Once cooled, baklava can be served, but flavor and texture improve if left to stand at least 8 hours. Baklava can be wrapped tightly in foil and kept at room temperature up to 10 days.).