Pistachio Baklava With Honey and Rose Water

This is my contribution to the lunch – a tray of pistachio baklava with an aromatic honey syrup.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 30

Ingredients

• For the sugar syrup

• 75  ml water
• 125  g white sugar
• 50  g honey
• 1  teaspoon lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  orange blossom water
• 1  tablespoon rose water (*)

• For the baklava

• 150  g pistachios
• 50  g  almonds
• 100  g  soft light brown sugar
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1  tablespoon  orange blossom water
• 1  tablespoon rose water (*)
• 12  sheets phyllo pastry
• 75  g unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. 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.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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”.
6. 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.
7. Allow the baklava to cool fully before serving. Decorate with chopped pistachios and dried pomegranate seeds(**).
8. (*) 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!
9. (**) 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.