Pistachio Baklava

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Siegal

Sous Chef
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
545
This recipe is from Aromas of Aleppo. I will write it down as is but I made it a dozen times so I will put some notes.

1.5 pounds blanched, peeled, unsalted, pistachios
2 TB powdered sugar
5 sticks unsalted butter, melted
24 sheets fila
1 cup cold syrup (3 cups sugar, 1 TB lemon jiice, 1/2 ts rose or orange blossom water)

Notes:
I always use half the pistachios called for bc its just too expensive and I guess we like more filo to pistachio ratio. But I am sure its good either way.

Only if I feel like it do I blanch and peel the pistachios as that takes a while - it still came out good with the skins many times.

I try to use unsalted butter and unsalted pistachios - but If I have the salted kind I still use it but only one or the other. I don't suggest you use salted butter AND salted pistachios. Only one salted item. Its still good a little salty and sweet at the same time

If your fila fall apart I just put it down anyway. Just save one nice sheet of fila for the top. No one can tell you piece them together as long as you overlap it.

If you don't have orange blossom or rose water for the syrup - its OK - I made it with just lemon before

Assembly
I make the syrup first so it cools - as you want cold syrup over hot Baklava. Combine sugar, lemon, orange blossom/rose water, 1 cup of water. Stir until it boils. Simmer for 15 mins until its pretty thick but pourable. Refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350

Crush pistachios a little (I do this with a mallet in a ziploc baggy as I like it still chunky)

Mix pistachios with the sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter

Put one layer of filo down, brush with butter, do this 12 times, add the pistachios, do it 12 more times. Pour extra butter over top after last layer.

I keep the filo under a a piece of wax paper with a moist paper towel on top while assembling (the recipe says this helps from keeping it dry but I don't know...I just use broken sheets anyway. No one can tell)

I refrigerate it for 30 mins so the butter hardens and I can cut it into any pattern I like then I put it in the oven until its puffy and pretty brown on top about 1 hr.

The second I take it out I pour over the cold syrup.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I haven't made this for years--on my bucket list to make sometime soon (if I can find enough people to come help and eat it!).
 
CWS4322 said:
I haven't made this for years--on my bucket list to make sometime soon (if I can find enough people to come help and eat it!).

I'll come help you eat it CWS.....I love Baklava!

Seriously, I will have to try this recipe. ;)
 
Seigal, our procedures differ a bit beyond the ingredients. The recipe I have instructs you to tip the pan with the paklava so excess butter runs to a corner so it can be removed. I think this is done for a crispier end result.

Also, the recipe I have calls for cooling the paklava completely before the syrup is added.

Your thoughts.
 
Andy M. said:
Seigal, our procedures differ a bit beyond the ingredients. The recipe I have instructs you to tip the pan with the paklava so excess butter runs to a corner so it can be removed. I think this is done for a crispier end result.

Also, the recipe I have calls for cooling the paklava completely before the syrup is added.

Your thoughts.

Hmmmmm.......

I usually only have a tb or so of butter to pour over top anyway. But I brush it on so there is nothing to pour off.... So I would agree if it's sitting in butter - so much that you can tip it and pour it off-- it's probably too much

As far as the syrup. The baklava must be hot and syrup cold or vice versa. If both are cold it's Sooo hard to pour as the cold syrup keeps sticking to cold top layers of baklava and pulls them off as you move it around to pour. I made that mistake.. Haven't tried both hot....seems like it may work.
 
Thank you so much for posting this. I have copied it and will make it sometime soon.
 
Though I cannot buy it from them there is a Lebanese bakery in Deerborn, Michigan their baklava is out this world. Heavenly good. I can post a link for those who are not interested or do not have time to make it.
 
Hmmmmm.......

I usually only have a tb or so of butter to pour over top anyway. But I brush it on so there is nothing to pour off.... So I would agree if it's sitting in butter - so much that you can tip it and pour it off-- it's probably too much

As far as the syrup. The baklava must be hot and syrup cold or vice versa. If both are cold it's Sooo hard to pour as the cold syrup keeps sticking to cold top layers of baklava and pulls them off as you move it around to pour. I made that mistake.. Haven't tried both hot....seems like it may work.


Our quantities are a bit different. We use a whole pound of filo. There are about 20 sheets in a pound and we cut them in half to fit a 14"x10" baking dish. So we make paklava with a total of 40 layers. We spread the nuts in three layers separated by 10 sheets. i.e. 10 layers, 1/3 of the nuts, 10 layers, 1/3 of the nuts, 10 layers, 1/3 of the nuts and ten final layers. We sometimes do it with two layers of nut mix separated by about thirteen layers. We found dividing up the nuts in 2 or 3 layers helped the cut pieces stay together better.

Our recipe calls for 3/4 pound of butter to be spread on the layers and over the top before chilling, cutting and baking. We don't usually have butter to drain off - maybe a tablespoon or so. You recipe uses a lot more butter.

I don't know what to tell you about the syrup. It works for us. Maybe our syrup is thinner so it works better cold.

All I know is we have delicious paklava that's crispy top to bottom and we don't have it nearly as often as I like.

Your recipe and photo made me want it again.
 
image-2933689551.jpg

More baklava! Made it for catering. Interspersed with brownie. As someone mentioned earlier I used a glass dish this time and saw all the butter and tipped our a few tablespoons. Came out great maybe better
 

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