One of my favorite vacations ever was the time my parents took us to Greece. The food was so fresh and delicious. I have never forgotten it. Sheep’s milk yogurt with honey for dessert, salads filled with tomatoes, oregano and feta cheese, and lamb cooked on a spit and served with fresh pita bread. It was also on this trip where I was introduced to Greek desserts like kataifi and baklava, although to this day my favorite is still loukamades, the hot fried honey donuts sprinkled with cinnamon. Every now and then I make baklava and spanakopita, spinach and feta pie wrapped in phyllo. It’s much easier than you think and just takes a bit of patience. Keep the phyllo dough moist by covering what you aren’t using with a wet paper towel!
Ingredients
30 sheets frozen phyllo dough defrosted
16 oz mix of chopped pistachios and walnuts (plus extra finely chopped pistachios for decoration)
2 tsps. ground cinnamon
2 tsps. ground cloves
2 sticks butter melted
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1. Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Use a cooking brush to butter the bottom and sides of a baking pan (I use a cake pan that is rectangular – about 9 x 13 inches). Begin by layering the sheets of phyllo on the bottom of the baking dish to form the base. Layer the sheets one at a time, making sure to brush each sheet with melted butter. Use about 12 layers for the base.
2. In a large bowl, mix the chopped nuts, the cinnamon and ground cloves. Sprinkle the nut mixture over the phyllo base and continue forming the top of the baklava. Top the nuts with the rest of the phyllo sheets (15 of them), brushing each one with melted butter and brush the top of the baklava with butter.
3. Place the baklava in the fridge for 15 minutes to make it easier to cut into pieces. Remove from the fridge and using a sharp knife cut all the way down into diamond shaped pieces with a crisscross pattern.
4. Place the baklava in a preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake for about 45 minutes, until all the phyllo layers are crisp and golden.
5. Prepare the syrup by mixing all the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and bringing it to a boil. Boil for about 2 minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Take it off the heat and stir in the honey and vanilla. Let the syrup cool down. You can also put the syrup in the fridge. As soon as the baklava is ready, ladle slowly the cold syrup over the hot baklava, until it is fully absorbed.
6. Let the baklava cool down completely and serve after the syrup has soaked through.
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