Conference turris::cooks

Baklava - this recipe from a friend at D. G., who says he got it from his sister

1 1/2 lb filo dough
1 1/2 lb melted butter
1 1/2 lb walnut meats
1 t ground cinnamon
3/4c water
2 1/4 c sugar
3/4 t lemon juice
3/4 c honey

1.  Chop walnuts almost into a coarse powder.  Mix with cinnamon.

2.  Coat 11"x16" baking pan with butter.

3.  Do 8 times: { Place a sheet of fillo dough in pan.
                  Brush butter over sheet of dough. }

4.  Until out of nut mixture do:
                { Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top.
                  Place a sheet of fillo dough in pan.
                  Brush butter over sheet of dough.
                  Place another sheet of dough in pan.
                  Brush butter over sheet of dough. }

5.  Do 8 times: { Place a sheet of fillo dough in pan.
                  Brush butter over sheet of dough. }

6.  You now should have ten sheets of buttered dough on top.
    Cut with sharp knife into small diamonds.
    Bake at 275 degrees F for 2 hours.

7.  While baking, combine water, sugar, and juice.
    Bring to a boil, then simmer for ten minutes.
    Add honey.
    Cool mixture in refrigerator.

8.  When time is up, pour cold liquid over hot pastry.
    Cool for at least four hours before serving.


NOTES FROM MY FRIEND'S SISTER:

The dough will run out first, not the nuts.  I suggest that you use 4
tablespoons of nuts instead of three.  Make sure that you have enough dough
left for the ten sheets on the top.

I have reduced the proportions of the "sauce" ingredients by 25% because
people seem to like a less soggy and less sweet pastry.

Fillo dough can be found in large supermarkets or specialty groceries.
It comes in 1 lb packages and is found inthe frozen foods case.  It
might be labelled "Filo" or "strudel leaves".  You can also get it at
some bakeries.


NOTE FROM ME: I've never made this, but my friend brings it to parties
a lot, and his pastry is always great, so the recipe should work.  I don't
usually type in recipes I haven't made, lest you blame me if they don't
work out, but this one ought to be safe.  I just don't eat this kind of
thing very much.  Hope it comes out good!

/Charlotte

We recently made a wonderful baklava using the recipe from Bernard Clayton's
"The complete book of Pastry, Sweet and Savory" (paperback, Simon & Schuster,
$unknown - we got it from QPB book club; hardcover available at about $20).

I'd rather not type in the recipe (it's rather long) from page 239, but
I heartily endorse both the baklava and the entire book.  The things we've
made from it worked well and were delicious.

If you make the baklava, use Nicka's spiced syrup.

Will try to remember to photostat some recipes and mail them -- I lack the
patience to type them in.

You might not be aware that there are more desserts (even Greek desserts) that
use phyllo than just baklava. Galatoboureko, kopenhai, and kadaife come to
mind immediately.

Re .2: Either you enjoy drinking vinegar, or you got a sample from someone 
who is trying to induce diabetes. (Or you don't really belong in this forum,
and also you happen to work for T-- um, er, well, never mind.)
I've had, over the years, wildly varying degrees of sweetness in baklava,
which depends chiefly, I would assume, on just how sweet the cook likes his/her
baklava. It seems much easier to make it very much too sweet than not sweet
enough, though...

RE.2	would recommend you NOT follow this recipe for best results.  
The author obviously had a bad experience.

The first recipe sounds REAL good.  There are a couple of tricks to 
making good BAKLAVA.  One is not to take shortcuts.  Specifically, put 
your filo down one sheet at a time - the shortcut being to put 2-4 
sheets down at once.  

My mom always told me it doesn't matter if you use cold syrup or hot 
syrup; the "trick" is to put either HOT SYRUP over COLD BAKLAVA or COLD 
SYRUP over HOT BAKLAVA.

Kali Orexi - bon appetit

    I recently tried the recipe in 69.1 and got excellent results.
    I modified the sauce a little by reducing the sugar to 2 cups and
    increasing the honey to 1 cup.  
    
    wayne

    OK, I've got to add my secret!
    
      Instead of using walnuts use almonds,walnuts have a bitter after
    taste.  You should put butter in the pan before you start the layering.
    and don't forget the most important(I learned this from my father)
    it is mandatory to drink at least one glass of ouzo(on ice, of
    course)!!
    
                                        ERIE
    

    
    Re .7 - Almonds sound good, but if you really feel like splurging,
    try PECANS! (I do this just once a year for my brother...)
    
    I'll vouch for the COLD syrup over HOT baklava method (for me it's
    the easiest - just pour the stuff over the baklava as soon as you
    take it out of the oven). Also, for those of you who don't have
    a real sweet tooth, try adding the juice of one lemon (more or less)
    to the syrup. It adds a nice flavor and cuts down on the sweetness.
    (I add the lemon for other people. Personally, I like my baklava
    with extra sugar... :^)
    
    						Kemlo

    I had forgotten this note was here!
    
    I made baklava twice this weekend - the first time I bought mixed
    nuts that had too many peanuts and were too salty-yuk!  So the next
    time, I got a mix of cashews, almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts and
    rinsed them off first.  Also used unsalted butter.  My recipe calls
    for a tablespoon of lemon juice in the syrup, then a tablespoon
    of orange water after the syrup is cooked - without peanuts and salt and
    with the orange water, the flavor was real delicate.  Has anyone
    used a Hot Topper or some type of sprayer for the butter when working
    with phyllo??

    Oops - forgot to mention that my recipe calls for beating one egg
    white till stiff, then adding 1/3 cup superfine sugar, cinnamon
    and fold in 2 cups chopped nuts - seems to give more "body" to the
    filling, but I haven't tried it with just nuts, so I probably shouldn't
    say!  Another vote for hot baklava and cool syrup.
    
    Also recently have gotten into the triangles with fillings - broccoli
    and red pepper, sausage and cheese, ham and mustard - easy to make
    ahead for parties and impressive.

    I made some baklava last night.  I'm told that the important reason
    for putting the lemon juice into the syrup is to prevent the sugar
    from crystalizing.
    
    /Jim Pappas

    I'm looking for a dessert recipe made with phyllo dough.  The filling
    contained crushed pineapple and ricotta cheese.  The taste was similar
    to cheese danish, only better!    
    
    Does anyone have such a recipe?  Thanks.          
    
    Beth

      
    I've made this, and it's wonderful!
    
    PINEAPPLE CHEESE BAKLAVA
    
    1 (1 lb. 4 oz.) can crushed pineapple 
    1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
    1 cup Ricotta cheese
    1 cup sugar
    2 egg yolks
    1 tsp. grated lemon peel
    1 tsp. vanilla
    1/2 lb. frozen filo pastry leaves, thawed
    1/2 cup butter, melted
    1 tsp. lemon juice
    
      Turn pineapple into wire strainer and drain, saving juice.
      In mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, Ricotta, 1/2 cup sugar,
    egg yolks, lemon peel and vanilla.
      Blend together on medium speed. Stir in drained pineapple. Place
    filo leaves between damp towels to keep moist. Place a sheet of
    pastry in well-greased pan (13x9x2).
      Brush with melted butter. Repeat with 3 more leaves. Spoon on
    the pineapple-cheese mixture, and spread level.
      Top with remaining filo, brushing each sheet with butter as it
    is layered. Mark pastry into diamonds with point of a sharp knife.
    Bake in a 350 degree oven about 50 minutes or until golden brown.
      Combine 1/2 cup reserved pineapple syrup, remaining 1/2 cup sugar,
    and lemon juice and cook to a thick syrup. When Baklava is baked,
    spoon the hot syrup evenly over the top. Cool, then cut into diamonds
    at markings.
      Makes 1 large Baklava, about 40 diamonds.
    
    

    I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question but...
    
    Does anyone know where I can get Mapleline in the southern NH area?
    I need it for my baklava recipe.  A friend gave me a bottle about
    two years ago and it is just about gone.
    
    Thanks,
    Mary Ann

I started to look through the recipes to see if there was already a
    BAKLAVA recipe and got discouraged around 300 something. So I will
    enter mine.
    
    BAKLAVA
    
    Boil for 5 minutes then set aside:
    
    3 cups sugar
    1 1/2 cups water
    1/2 teas. Mapleline
    1/2 orange (just cut in half and throw it in)
    1/2 lemon ( same thing as above)
    1 cinnamon stick
    1/3 cup honey
    _______________________________________________
    Chop 1 # walnut and add 1/2 cup sugar
    _______________________________________________
    Melt 3 or 4 sticks real butter
    _______________________________________________
    
    In a large sheet pan:
    Brush bottom with butter
    Add 1 sheet Fillo
    Butter,fillo,butter,fillo for 5 sheets
    Then fillo, butter, 1/4 cup sprinkled nuts until the last 5
    	sheets of Fillo
    Then fillo,butter,fillo,butter until all sheets are used.
    ________________________________________________
    CUT lengthwise into 7 strips
    BAKE @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes
    ________________________________________________
    
    Remove from oven and pour cooked syrup (remove the orange, lemon,
    and cinnamon strick, first) over the hot Fillo.
    
    Try to let it cool before you nibble, and cut at diagonals.
    
    HINTS:
    	1. Fillo dries out quickly when exposed to air, so cover the
    unused portion with a damp towel.
    
    	2. As you better each peice of Fillo, seal the edges with butter
    or they will curl up too much during baking.
    
    ENJOY
    Mary Ann
            

    What is Mapleline?  I have a jillion books at home with baklava
    recipes in them, and made with readily available ingredients, so I
    can post some if you think Mapleline is a necessity.
    

    I'm not sure exactly what Mapleline is but I think it is a highly
    concentrated maple extract.  It is made by Cressant company. The
    lady who taught me to make Baklava was very insistant that you use
    only Mapleline. Since I am not a great cook, I didn't question her
    and have used the bottle faithfully.
    
    Mary Ann

     Here's a recipe from Middle Eastern Cookling by Rose Dosti.

     Make Medium Syrup:

      3 c sugar
      2 T lemon juice
      1 1/2 c water

     Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan.  Bring to a
     boil, stirring frequently.  Once the mixture boils and the sugar
     is dissolved, do not stir or syrup may cloud or crystallize.
     Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat until a candy thermometer
     registers 212 to 218 F.  Remove from heat.  Cool. Can be used
     immediately or refrigerated in a plastic container with a lid (for
     up to one month).  Makes about 2 c.  Variations: (1) stir in 2 T
     honey after removing from heat, OR (2) stir 1/2 t rose water into
     cooked syrup, OR (3) stir 1/2 t orange flower water into cooked
     syrup.  (Orange flower and rose water tend to be sold in 
     liquor departments.  They're a "spice" in the Middle East and
     North Africa, but I think are only used here in drinks.)

     Baklava:

     Medium Syrup
      4 c finely chopped walnuts
      1 T cinnamon (yes, one Tablespoon)
      1/2 t allspice
      1/2 t nutmeg
      1/2 t ground cloves
      1/4 c sugar
      40 filo sheets
      1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, clarified, or margarine, melted

     Prepare Medium syrup and set aside to cool.  Preheat oven to
     350F.  Lightly butter a 13x9 baking pan.  In a medium bowl,
     combine walnuts, spices, and sugar, and set aside.  Stack filo
     sheets on a flat surface.  Trim to fit pan.  Cover with plastic
     wrap to prevent drying out.  Layer 12 sheets in baking pan,
     brushing each sheet with the butter or margarine.  Spread 1 c nut
     mixture over the this.  Top with 8 more sheets, brushing each with
     butter or marg.  Another 1 c nut mixture.  8 more sheets, buttered.
     Then the remaining nut mixture.  Top with the 12 remaining sheets,
     buttered.  Cutting all the way thru the pastry, cut into 1 inch
     diamond shapes without removing from pan.  Bake 30 minutes.
     Reduce heat to 200F and then bake 30 minutes longer.  Pour the
     cooled syrup over the warm pastry.  Let stand several hours before
     serving.  Optionally spoon finely chopped pistachio nuts over baklava
     and tap them lightly into the pastry.

    While checking out the assertion that non-imitation Almond extract
    no longer exists, I noticed that Safeway out here stocks Mapleline.
     According to the Mapleline package, it is imitation maple flavoring.
     It and the imitation maple flavoring package next to it both seemed
    to be alcohol, vanilla, and various other things.  The various other
    things were not the same, however.  If you're still desperate for
    Mapleline, let me know and I'll pick a bottle up next time I go
    shopping and send it to you.  It will probably be one or two weeks,
    as I view grocery shopping as a fate worse than death.
    

    Re: .13 - Triangles
    
    You can probably tell from my name that I didn't have a Greek grandma
    to learn from, but this is what I do -
    
    Thaw the pastry and prepare to keep moist as you work, have butter
    melted.
    
    Take one sheet, lay on counter, brush with butter, add another one
    and butter.  I lay mine width-wise instead of length-wise.  Cut
    into six strips.  I'm not too precise about this - just cut the
    sheet in half, then each half in thirds.  Put a teaspoon or so of
    filling about an inch from the end nearest you and then fold like
    a flag. 
    
    Since they don't rise when cooking, you can fit a lot on one baking
    sheet.  Brush tops with a little more butter before baking.  
    
    As for filling, it seems just about anything will work as long as
    it isn't too greasy or wet.  Lately, I've used canned lemon pie
    filling and then after baking sprinkled the tops with powered sugar.
    
    If I want them for appetizers instead of dessert, I saute chopped
    red pepper, onion and broccoli in a tiny bit of olive oil, let cool
    before using.  
    Or, get a package of sliced imported ham (the package is approx. 5 x
    7 inches and has little obvious fat) and dice it, stir into a couple
    spoonfuls of Dijon mustard.  

    Be careful to not use too much filling as it will ooze out during
    baking.
    
    Have fun experimenting, and post what you come up with!
    
    Terry
    

    For those of you who might read the previous notes, I would like
    to clear up something. To say that Baklava and the other food mentioned
    here (spinach pie, galataboregue - GALATA is a town in Turkey, NOT
    in Greece) is like to say, the near and middle eastern cultures
    do not exist.
    
    These foods certainly did not originate in Greece. Most of the middle
    eastern countries have Baklava, Spinach pie, etc.. During the ruling
    of Ottoman Empire (Turkey), all of the countries in this region
    were affected by each other's cusines.
    
    **
    Also, as a person who grew up on Baklava's (and I am not Greek),
    I can say that the best nut for Baklava is by far Pistachios. They
    are excellent in KADAYIF (know here as kataifi).
    
    The authentic baklava syrup doesn't include anything, but water,
    lemon juice and sugar. Using honey is up to you. My sister mixes
    corn (or a similar vegatable) oil with butter, and the result is
    crispy and not so heavy.
                            

  I made Baklava, following the recipe in .1, this weekend.  I'm not sure what
differed between my methods and the author's but I only ended up using about
half of the nuts, and half of the butter. But it came out VERY GOOD!!

  Has anyone else who made this particular recipe ended up with lots of 
leftover nuts and butter?  Also, I used 2 pounds of phyllo dough, instead 
of 1 1/2 1b.

  I had never worked with phyllo before.  I'd have to say that there's nothing
hard about making Baklava - you just need patience, and the will to not 
stop layering half-way through the first package of phyllo!!

--Sharon

    Sharon,
    
    I have made this recipe lots of times, and I, too, end up with extra
    nuts.  So I either cut down on the nuts, or make higher Baklava! 
    Either way, isn't it a great recipe?  Once you get the hang of it, it
    goes rather quickly.  I used to agonize over dried out layers of
    phyllo, but now I slap it on anyway, brush with butter, and it comes
    right back.  I also use a LARGE pastry brush (looks like a house
    painting brush) to make it go more quickly.  
    
    Sarah
    

  I also had melted butter left over.  I presume it's ok to store what I 
didn't use in the fridge...is there a time limit to how long it will "keep"
once it's been melted and coagulated?

--Sharon

       Just want to say thanks for the BAKLAVA ideas. My first batch
    was weird let's say. 
    
       The second batch much better. I need more nuts so I'm going to
    try a third batch this week. I know that will be just right! I also
    need a wider pastry brush, just like someone in the string said. A
    nice wide brush will be a big help!
    
        Rose