LEBANON | SYRIA
Baklava is a generic term describing a whole range of Middle Eastern sweets, such as kol wa shkor (translated as “eat and be grateful”), which are tiny pastries made with phyllo dough. They come as tiny rolls, or small squares, or little “baskets,” all filled with ground nuts—pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, cashews, or walnuts. Another more limited range is a selection made with kataifi (or “hair” pastry), which come in cylinders (borma), squares (ballouriyeh), or nests (‘esh el-bulbul). These, too, are filled with nuts. A few baklava are fried but most are baked, and all are drenched in sugar syrup after baking or frying. The syrup is left plain in Turkey, while in Lebanon and Syria it is flavored with orange blossom and rose water. Syria is the land of baklava even if Turkish baklava is better known globally. Syrian baklava, which is the same as that made in Lebanon, is crunchier and less golden than its Turkish counterpart, and it is made smaller.
The recipe below is for the classic diamond-shaped baklava, but you can also make fingers (see Variation).
SERVES 6 TO 8
FOR THE SYRUP
Scant 1 cup (175 g) raw cane sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon rose water
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
FOR THE FILLING
1⅓ cups (200 g) pistachios, pine nuts, or walnuts
½ cup (100 g) raw cane sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
1 tablespoon rose water
TO ASSEMBLE
8 tablespoons (115 g) butter, melted
12 sheets phyllo dough (12½ x 7¼ inches/32 x 18 cm)
1. To make the syrup: Put the sugar, lemon juice, and ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon (75 ml) water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring every now and then, and let bubble for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and add the rose and orange blossom water. Let cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
3. To make the filling: Process the nuts in a blender until medium fine. (Or, for a nicer texture, pack them loosely in a zip-seal plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush or beat them.) Transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and orange flower and rose water and mix well.
4. Brush a 7 x 12½-inch (18 x 32 cm) baking dish with a little melted butter. Spread one sheet of phyllo dough over the bottom and brush with melted butter. (Keep the remaining sheets covered with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel to stop them from drying up.) Lay 5 more sheets of phyllo on top, brushing each with melted butter as you go, for a total of 6 layers.
5. Spread the nut filling evenly over the phyllo and cover with 6 more sheets of phyllo, making sure you brush each with melted butter. Pour any leftover butter onto the pastry and cut into medium-size diamonds or thin rectangles all the way through the filled pastry.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and let sit for a couple of minutes before pouring the cooled syrup all over the baklava. Serve at room temperature. Baklava will keep for at least a couple of days if stored in an airtight container.
BAKLAVA FINGERS: Make the syrup and nut filling as directed. Halve the phyllo lengthwise for a total of 24 strips of phyllo. Keeping the unused phyllo covered while you work, make a stack of 6 strips of phyllo, brushing melted butter over each layer as you go. With a long side of the pastry facing you, spread a quarter of the nut filling in a thin raised line down the length of the pastry, close to the edge nearer to you. Roll into a long thin sausage. Cut the roll crosswise into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths. Repeat to make 3 more rolls. Arrange the pastries loose side down on a nonstick baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat), keeping the rolls close to one another. Bake and add the syrup as indicated above.