Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

This weekend we went to a GNOIF (Game Night of Indeterminate Frequency) over at our friends’ place. It’s a great time for convivial banter amidst board and card games of varying complexity. Everyone brings something potable and something noshable. I brought a bottle of sangiovese from the winery at Castello di Amorosa, and the finalized version of my baklava, a recipe I’ve been finessing for some time.

I can’t share the sangio with you (it was good, though), but I can share the recipe for baklava.

In this recipe, I cut the sometimes cloying sweetness by using salted pistachios, and by using honey for the syrup instead of sugar. The clean flavor of the orange blossom water, and the high, bright notes of the cardamom and the Vietnamese cinnamon also help bring the flavor profile up out of the Too Sweet Valley.

Here ’tis.

Baklava

6-8 servings

Hardware

• One baking sheet; quarter-sized (9×13 inches) is best, but a half-size (18×13) works also
• A butter brush

Software

For the syrup:

• 1 cup honey (wildflower or blackberry, if possible)
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp. orange blossom water

For the pastry:

• 3 cups shelled pistachios
• 1 and 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tbsp. ground cardamom (black cardamom, if possible)
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon (Vietnamese or Ceylon, if possible)
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 20 sheets phyllo pastry (9×14 inches each)

Procedure

The Syrup

• Put the honey and water into a small saucepan over a medium-high heat.
• Stir to mix as you bring it to a boil.
• Back off the heat to a high simmer.
• Stir for 10-20 minutes as it reduces (be careful when it foams).
• When most of the water has boiled off and the syrup coats the back of a spoon, take it off the heat.
• Let cool.
• Stir in the orange blossom water.

The Pastry

• Chop the pistachios finely (see Notes).
• Combine the nuts, sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon in a bowl.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Brush the baking sheet with the melted butter.
• Taking one sheet of phyllo at a time, lay the phyllo down on the baking sheet and brush with butter, then put down another phyllo sheet and butter it. Do this for a total of seven (7) buttered layers of pastry.
• Spread half the nut mixture out on the pastry. Distribute it evenly and pack it down lightly with your hand.
• Take six (6) sheets of pastry and lay them down, buttering the top of each one.
• Spread on the second half of the nut mixture, pressing it down lightly.
• Finish with seven (7) layers of pastry, buttering each one.
• With a sharp knife, cut the pastry diagonally into strips two inches wide.
• Now cut the pastry across the width, making diamond/lozenge-shaped bars.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 325°F.
• Increase the heat to 400°F and bake 8-10 minutes more, until deep golden in color. (Watch them, so they don’t burn.)
• Remove from the oven and drizzle the syrup over the top of the pastry.
• Let sit for a few minutes, then de-pan, arranging the lozenges on a plate.

Notes

• Do not use a food processor to chop the pistachios; this will pulverize them. You want a nice texture and crunch to the nuts, so take the time and use a knife.
• If you tear one or two sheets of phyllo in assembly, no worries. Piece them together if you can, but if you end up with a few sheets less, don’t sweat it.
• When you cut the pastry, gently hold the phyllo down with your fingers so it stays in place.
• Before you start to de-pan the pastries, take a big knife and press down into the cuts to make sure you’ve gone all the way through the phyllo.

k