Description:

Fillo Dough, Middle Eastern Pastry

Source:

Harold

Serves/Makes:12 or more

Ingredients

• 1 pkg Appollo Filo (thin sheets of rolled pastry)
• 3 cups (700 ml) white sugar
• 1 pound chopped pistachios or walnuts
• 1 pound butter
• 1-1/2 tsp (7 ml) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cloves
• 9 X 12 pyrex baking dish
• pastry brush

Preparation

• Mix chopped pistachios or walnuts, 1 cup (225 ml) white sugar, 3/4 tsp (4 ml) ground
• cinnamon and 1/4 tsp (1 ml) ground cloves.
• Melt the butter.
• Cut the filo leaves to fit the baking dish you are using.
• Spread a layer of melted butter on the bottom of the baking dish.
• Place single layers of filo, spreading with butter between each layer.
• Every 6 to 8 layers of filo spread a layer of the chopped pistachio/walnut
• mixture.
• Continue layers, being sure to spread melted butter over each
• layer, until all of the filo is used.
• Pour any remaining melted butter over the last layer.
• With a sharp knife carefully cut the filo diagonally creating diamond shaped pieces.
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (175 C.) F.
• Bake at 350 degrees (175 C.) 30 to 40 minutes or until top layer is golden brown.
• Remove the baking dish and allow to cool completely.
• Combine the remaining sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves in a sauce pan
• with 1 cup (225 ml) of water.
• Heat at a slow boil for 10 to 15 minutes for syrup.
• Pour the syrup, while at boiling temperature, over the baked and cooled
• Baklava.
• Allow to cool completely once again and enjoy some of the best pastry to
• come out of Turkey.

Comments

Don't be afraid to try this, it is time consuming, but it is not complicated to make. The results will be worth the effort. Serve with sweetened Turkish Coffee and Dried Turkish Apricots. The proper way to make Turkish Coffee is in a rather narrow high sided pan. Putting a teaspoon of stone ground (very fine ground) coffee and a teaspoon of sugar and a cup fo water for each demitasse cup and heat slowly until just starting to boil. Do not allow it to boil, that will "break" the foam. Pour the coffee into the cups, dividing the foam among them.