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May 17, 2004

A Basic Recipe for Baklava

There are as many recipes for baklava as there are Mediterranean women. I don't make my mother's recipe for baklava because I never remember to ask her for it when I don't need to make some Right Now, but then again, I think I could make baklava blindfolded, having watched my mother make it about ten thousand times when I was a child. It's not very complicated, and the basic formula will accept a lot of fiddling and tweaking to taste. Here's my recipe:

Ayse's Non-Specific Baklava

Make a filling of chopped nuts, any spices you like, any flavourings you like (rose water or orange flower water, or vanilla if you're a heathen), and a sweetener (honey, or just white sugar) to taste. Don't ask me about proportions; you can figure that out on your own. Make as much as you like to have. I usually make about 2 cups.

Make a syrup from sweetener (honey or sugar are good bets), water, and, if you like, a flavouring (like rose water or orange flower water). Set it aside to cool.

You can make your own fillo, but, good heavens, why would you do that? Just buy it at the store like a civilized person. You don't want to be rolling out dough to 1mm thick to make the middle eastern equivalent of brownies.

Lay down about half a pound of fillo sheets interleaved with butter. Some people use margerine, but they are infidels. Fillo is easy. Don't get all worked up about the sheets sticking or tearing; that is inevitable. If you ever make a baklava and none of the fillo sticks or tears, throw it away uneaten; it is a cursed bakalava that will bring you bad luck, I assure you.

On top of the layer of fillo, spread out your filling. Then lay down another half pound of the fillo/butter thing.

The top sheet will tear into a million pieces. It always does. Relax. Fillo flakes like a bitch, so nobody will notice that gigantic tear.

Before you bake that sucker, slice it. You may think you can wait, but I assure you that you will be in a world of hurt if you wait to slice until the fillo has crisped up. Just slice it now.

Bake in a warm oven until done. Explicit enough for you? Roughly 350F for maybe 45 minutes. However long it takes to get all nice and golden brown on top, the way it's supposed to look.

Take it out, let it cool a bit so you don't burn your hands and say things you ought not to say in the presence of food, then reslice it (it will need it) and pour the syrup you made over the top. Let it cool completely and then cover it and let it sit for at least 12 hours; 24 would be better. Then you can serve it at room temperature with coffee or tea or whatever you like to drink with desserts.

Posted by ayse on 05/17/04 at 4:55 PM