Honey Pistachio Baklava Recipes

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely ground (or you can chop them by hand until very finely chopped). Don't overprocess the nuts. You want to maintain some texture.
• Clarify the butter by melting it over low heat, then letting it cook until the foam rises to the top and the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan. This will take about 5 to 15 minutes depending upon how high your heat is, but don't rush it or the butter could burn.
• Skim foam off the top of the melted butter. Line a fine-mesh sieve with a piece of cheesecloth, place it over a bowl and pour the melted butter through.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and brush the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a little of the clarified butter.
• Prepare the phyllo dough by trimming the stack of it with scissors to fit the bottom of your baking dish. Packages of phyllo come in different sizes; some won't need any trimming, some may need an inch or two cut off a side, and some may need to be cut in half crosswise. Cover phyllo layers with a lightly damp kitchen towel, and keep covered.
• Place 1 piece of phyllo on the bottom of the baking pan; brush lightly with clarified butter. Layer phyllo sheets on top, brushing each sheet with butter as you go, until half the phyllo is used.
• Spread pistachios on phyllo in an even layer, then layer with remaining phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter as you go (rewarm butter if necessary).
• Cut the pastry into 36 pieces, using clean up-and-down strokes and rotating the pan if necessary. Make sure to cut all the way through to bottom of pan. Pour any remaining butter evenly over pan.
• Bake baklava until the top is golden brown, and the lower phyllo layers beneath the pistachios are thoroughly baked through. To test this, use a knife to lift up a corner of one of the pastry rectangles from the center of the pan so you can peek at the bottom layers. Start checking after 40 minutes, but it could take an hour or even 1 hour 10 minutes. If the top starts to get too brown before the pastry is cooked through, lay a piece of foil over the top.
• Meanwhile, prepare sugar syrup: In a medium pot, combine sugar with 1 2/3 cups/400 milliliters water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in lemon juice.
• When the baklava is baked through, reheat the syrup until it comes to a simmer. Remove pan from oven and place in the sink or on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips of syrup. Slowly pour hot sugar syrup over the pastry; it will bubble up and some may overflow. When the syrup stops bubbling, move pan to wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

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

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan . In a bowl, combine pistachio nuts and 1/2 cup of the ghee.
• Take 8 sheets of phyllo dough and layer them in the greased pan, brushing each sheet with melted butter as you go.
• Spread about half of the nut mixture over phyllo dough.
• Cover with 6 sheets of dough, brushing each with ghee as you layer.
• Add remaining nut mixture and top with remaining sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with ghee.
• Using a knife, cut baklava into 1 1/2-inch diamonds.
• Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown on top.
• While baklava bakes, combine sugar, honey, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, making sure that sugar is completely dissolved.
• Reduce heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Allow syrup to come down to room temperature before using.
• When baklava is done, take it out of the oven and allow it to cool.
• Once syrup is tepid, drizzle it on top of baklava. Let baklava rest for 6 to 8 hours so it soaks up syrup and flavors develop further.

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

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300.
• Chop pistachios in food processor until finely chopped.
• Add walnuts, 2/3 cup sugar, and cinnamon and process until the texture of coarse meal, pulsing out any lumps. Set aside.
• Lightly fit 1 phyllo sheet in the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 dish, trimming to fit if needed.
• Brush well with melted butter.
• Continue with 7 more sheets, brushing each sheet well with butter.
• If butter hardens, just microwave briefly to soften.
• Scatter a generous 1/3cup nut mixture over phyllo.
• Add 2 more sheets, brushing each well with butter.
• Add another 1/3 cup nut mixture and continue layering until all nut mixture is used, finishing with a layer of remaining phyllo, brushing each sheet with melted butter.
• Place baklava in freezer for 10 minutes for easier cutting.
• Slice in 2" wide diamond-shaped pattern. (or squares if that is easier).
• At this point it my abe wrapped with heavy duty aluminum foil and frozen if desired.
• Set baking dish on middle oven rack and place a shallow pan of water underneath.
• Bake for 2hrs and 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Frozen baklava can be baked uncovered the same way for 2 and 1/2 - 3hrs. or until golden brown.
• Combine remaining 2/3 cups sugar, 2 cups water, honey and lemon juice in a large saucepan.
• Bring to boil over high heat, reduce to low and simmer uncovered 20 minutes.
• Pour into spouted measuring cup and cool to room temperature.
• Drizzle syrup evenly over baklava.
• Cool to room temperature, cover loosely with foil and let stand overnight before serving.

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, combine honey, sugar, 1/3 cup water, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove syrup from heat; set aside.
• Butter bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish. Cut two 8-by-13-inch sheets of parchment paper; line bottom and sides of dish, overlapping sheets in a crisscross pattern, leaving an overhang.
• Unroll phyllo sheets on a flat surface; lift the top half, and carefully roll into a tight tube. Using a sharp knife, cut crosswise to make 1-inch-wide ribbons. Roll remaining phyllo sheets, and store, tightly wrapped in plastic, in refrigerator up to a week.
• In a large bowl, unroll and loosen phyllo ribbons. Using your hands, gently toss with butter and all but 2 tablespoons pistachios; press firmly into prepared baking dish. Bake until lightly browned, about 45 minutes.
• Remove zest and cinnamon stick from syrup; discard. Reheat syrup over medium heat; pour over the hot pastry. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons pistachios; let cool completely.
• Using paper overhang, lift baklava onto a cutting board. Remove paper. With a sharp knife, gently cut into 8 triangles; transfer to a serving dish. Serve with orange slices, if desired.