Celebrating New Beginnings

Hello blogging friends and family,

Thank you for following me and your lovely comments. I know it’s been a minute since my last post. Funny how you start a fun blogging project, then life happens 🙂 Thankfully, it’s all good things.

I can’t wait to share my favorite recipe with you: Baklava. It’s made with nuts, filo pastry, and honey. You can prepare it a day in advance, and the recipe serves 24 people. This week, I’m bringing it to a farewell party for a community volunteer who has helped many in our neighborhood. Although it’s sad to say goodbye, for me, making Baklava brings warmth and tradition as we start new chapters in our lives.

I think that I received the recipe from my Greek language tutor before I even went to Greece. She flew to Athens to help me settle in, which was very special during my first days of college. I hope you enjoy the Baklava recipe and a glimpse of my little food journal from the Mediterranean!

Read more for the complete ingredient list, tips, and directions. If you’re new to the website, feel welcome to learn more About Me. I hope you enjoy this sweet recipe.

Traditional Greek Baklava

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Yield: 24 squares    Prep Time: 30 minutes    Bake Time: 1 hour plus overnight to soak

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Ingredients:

3/4 cup of butter, melted

14 oz packet of filo pastry, thawed

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp raw honey, locally sourced if you can find it*

1/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar

finely grated lemon peel from 1 lemon

2 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cups blanched almonds, finely chopped

1 3/4 cups walnuts, finely chopped

3/4 cups pistachio nuts, chopped (plus a little more to decorate)

For the Syrup: **

1 3/4 cups of caster (superfine) sugar

1/2 cup raw honey

2 1/2 cups water

1 strip of lemon peel

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Brush the base of a shallow 12×8 cake pan (non-stick works best) with melted butter.

2. Using the pan as a guide, cut the sheets of filo pastry with a sharp knife to fit the pan exactly.

3. Place one pastry sheet in the base of the pan, brush with a little melted butter, then repeat until you’ve used half of your pastry sheets. Cover the remaining pastry with a clean dish towel and set aside.

4. To make the filling, place the lemon juice, honey, and sugar in a pot and heat gently, stirring continuously until it has completely dissolved. Stir in the grated lemon peel, cinnamon and nuts.

5. Spread half of the filling over the pastry, and cover with three layers of the remaining filo pastry, brushing a little melted butter on each layer as you go. Then spread the remaining filling over the pastry.

6. Finish with the remaining sheets of pastry and butter on top, brushing melted butter over each sheet as you go. Brush the top of the pastry with butter, ensuring that you cover the whole surface.

7. Using a sharp knife, carefully mark the pastry into 24 squares, almost cutting through the filling. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour, or until crisp and golden brown.

8. As the baklava bakes, make the syrup. Place the sugar, honey, water, and lemon peel in a pot. Stir over low heat until the sugar and honey have dissolved. Bring to a boil, then boil for around 10 minutes until the mixture has thickened into a syrup.

9. Take the syrup off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Remove the baklava from the oven. Discard the lemon peel from the syrup then pour over pastry. Leave to soak overnight (this is key for perfect baklava). I cover the cake pan and let it soak in the refrigerator overnight, however, I’m not sure if that’s traditional.

10. When ready to serve, cut the baklava into squares and decorate with chopped pistachio nuts.

Kali Orexi! Bon Appétit!

Tips:

*Using local honey is a win for the environment since it supports local pollinators, cuts down on transportation emissions, and helps keep our biodiversity in check. By sourcing honey from local producers, we’re keeping those healthy honeybee populations buzzing, which means more pollination for wild plants and our local crops.

**In Greece (and I believe in Turkey), rose water syrup is often used as a glaze. I actually found rose water at my neighborhood Walmart. I’ll post when I try to make it into a syrup. If you have suggestions for how to make rosewater syrup, please post them in the comments below. I’d love to hear how you make it.