BAKLAVA

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the Former Ottoman Empire

The History of Baklava

Like the origins of most recipes that came from Old Countries to enrich the dinner tables of the Americas, the exact origin of baklava is also something hard to put the finger on because every ethnic group whose ancestry goes back to the Middle East has a claim of their own on this scrumptious pastry.

It is widely believed however,

That the Assyrians at around 8th century B.C. were the first people who put together a few layers of thin bread dough, with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens. This earliest known version of baklava was baked only on special occasions. In fact, historically baklava was considered a food for the rich until mid-19th century

Popular Comment
In Turkey, to this day one can hear a common expression often used by the poor, or even by the middle class, saying: "I am not rich enough to eat baklava and boerek every day".

The Name of Baklava

The word baklava is first attested in English in 1653 and entered English from Turkish. The name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling variations.The ultimate origin of the name is unclear.

The Origin of Baklava

Phyllo dough is named after the Greek word for "leaf", being "as thin as a leaf". The thickness (or for that matter, the thinnest) of Phyllo gives baklava a delicious crispy taste. So, when some people eat a piece of baklava, they may want to think of Greece. However, the history of baklava reveals it came from farther middle East. Even so, various countries offer tasty variations and have loyal followings

Ask Them
Ask the Greeks and they will say: "The Lebanese stole the recipe." Ask the Lebanese and they will say: "The Greeks stole the recipe." Ask the Turkish and they will say: "Our Pashas and Viziers (rulers) owned the recipe" Ask Armenians and they will say: "We invented and improved the recipe" (with spices) Ask all of them and they will say: "Our baklava is better than all the rest" and "Our pronunciation is the correct pronunciation of the word Baklava.

How to make Baklava

Servings :5 Preparation Time : 50 minutes Ingredients :

package of filo Pastry

For the Filling

2 cups finely chopped almonds 1 cup finely chopped hazelnut 1 cup finally chopped pistachios 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp ground cinnamon Any nuts you like

For the syrup

2cups sugar
2 cups water 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla

The Method (Syrup)

place all the ingredients for the syrup together in a saucepan, while stirring for the sugar to dissolve. Simmer for 30 or 45 minutes and leave it to cool. It must be cool when you put it on the hot baklava.

The Method
Place all the ingredients under filling in a bowl.

The Method
Place the block of filo sheets on the counter. Cut the sheets in half. Now there are two blocks of approximately 40 sheets. After cutting in half, the size of the sheets should the same as the size of the Pyrex dish. Keep the blocks separate as half the sheets will go below the Baklava filling, and the rest is above.

The Method
half the quantity of baklava in the baking pan, then spread nuts and cover with the rest of baklava.

The Method
Cut into squares or triangles

Heat margarine then pour on the baklava

The Method
Preheat the oven to 180
Put the pan into oven medium heat till golden brown.

Finally
Pour cold sugar syrup till Cools down and serve.

Now enjoy with the Baklava