Festive Baklava

In Istanbul's Grand Bazaar your eyes are dazzled by endless stalls piled high with gold and silver trinkets and the air is thick with the sweet sugary wafts from teetering stacks of Baklava and Turkish Delight, all infused by an underlying scent of freshly ground spices not mention the sound of a hundred shop keepers trying to attract your business.

This recipe comes from there, with a little British nod.

Ingredients

For the Honey Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup honey

1 orange zest amd juice

6 sheets package phyllo dough, thawed and cut in half 

100g unsalted butter melted

Filling

1/2 cup shelled pistachios 1/2 cup flaked almonds coarsely chopped

I jar of good quality mince meat

2 tbsp ground cinnamon 

large pinch of ground cloves

1 large cored, peeled and grated apple

Preheat oven to 160 C

Make the Honey Syrup

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat stove-top, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Add the honey and orange zest, stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove syrup from heat. Add orange  juice and let the syrup cool completely (it will thicken a little bit).

Make the filling

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, add the pistachios and almonds Pulse a few times to chop. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add mince meat, grated apple, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix well to combine.

Prepare the Phyllo PastryCarefully unroll the thawed phyllo pastry, cut in half and place the sheets in between two clean kitchen towels. This will help keep the phyllo from breaking while you work.

Assemble the Baklava 

Prepare a 6”x 10” x 2”baking pan (or near enough!) Brush the interior of the baking pan with some of the melted butter. To assemble the baklava, take one sheet of phyllo and place it in the pan.

Brush the top of the phyllo sheet with the melted butter.

Repeat 4 times, each layer being brushed with butter.

Now, distribute about ½ of the filling evenly over the top layer of phyllo.

Continue assembling the baklava, one sheet of phyllo pastry at a time using another 4 sheets of the phyllo. Again, brush each layer with a bit of the melted butter. 

Distribute the remaining ½ of the filling evenly over the top layer of phyllo. 

Finish the remaining 4 sheets of the phyllo pastry following the same process, laying one folded sheet at a time and brushing each layer with melted butter. 

Brush the very top sheet of phyllo with butter.

Cut the Baklava into Pieces 

Using a good sharp knife, cut the pastry into diamond shaped pieces, (will make about 36 pieces)  ½-inch deep, don’t try to cut to the bottom of the pan 

Bake: Place the baklava dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake from 35 to 45 minutes or until the top of the baklava turns golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Pour Syrup. Let COOL. Garnish:As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, pour the cooled syrup all over the hot baklava. Make sure you disribute the syrup evenly. 

Let the baklava cool completely. 

Cut through the pieces you marked earlier. 

Garnish with a little sprinkle of pistachio and icing sugar before serving.

Enjoy with a glass of fizz and your loved ones!