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Baklava (Baghlava)

Baklava is a sweet pastry made with fillo (Phyllo) dough and chopped nuts, originally from Turkey and usually served as a dessert. There are different versions of Baklava available in middle east: in turkish style, persian style (from Yazd, Tabriz), .... But what is described here is available mostly in northern american stores (as in Trader Joe’s, Middles eastern stores,...)


Ingredients:
-1.5 lbs, chopped Walnuts
-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
-1/8 teaspoon Crushed Cardamom
-1 package (Containing 40 sheets) Fillo Dough
-1 Orange zest
-1/2 cup Sugar
-Cooking Spray (oil spray)

Method:

Baking Baklava has three main steps,
Nuts Mixture, Syrup and stacking as it follows in order:

=Nuts Mixture:
1) In a bowl, mix walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and fruit zest (orange, lemon, citron and lime). Zest is used as a flavor among other ingredients and can be prepared by scraping or cutting from the outer, colorful skin of the citrus fruits [1].
Any types of nuts such as pistachios or a mixture of them can also be used in this mixture.

=Syrup
Ingredients:
2 cups Water
1 Orange Zest
1 cup Honey
2 cups Sugar

1) Mix all ingredients and bring them to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and cool slightly.

2) When the baklava is done after stacking step, take the pan out of the oven. Cool slightly and pour warm syrup evenly over baklava.

3) Let it cool down to room temperature and then serve. Notice the more it sits the more syrup is absorbed into the baklavas, so 2-3 hours for cooling is recommend.

=Stacking:
1) Prepare fillo dough sheets based on the following direction [2]
-Allow fillo dough to thaw in refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature before using.
- Carefully unroll fillo sheets onto a smooth, dry surface.
- Cover fillo completely with plastic wrap, then a damp towel.
- Keep fillo covered until needed. Do not leave uncovered for more than one minute to avoid drying out.
- Fillo may be rolled and refrozen to store when not in use.

2) Lightly spray a medium size baking pan with cooking spray (oil spray). Place 15-20 sheets of fillo Dough on the bottom of the pan and lightly spray each of them individually.

3) Cover with 1/2 of the walnut mixture.

4) Layer 5 more fillo sheets on top, lightly spraying each sheet individually. This step of stacking helps the material stay together and not to slip away.

5) Spread the remaining half of the walnut mixture over the fillo.

6) Cover with another 15 lightly sprayed fillo sheets.

7) Before baking, slice stacks into 1.5"-2” diamonds or squares (The size is up to you, depending on whether you want one piece/bite or larger). You may also lightly spray the top with cooking spray so it bakes golden brown.

8) Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You may want to check it after 30 minutes and adjust the temperature accordingly until it turns golden brown.

Enjoy!

All credits goes to
Sotoodeh Yarmahmoudi &
Mohammad Gharehyazi
Davis, CA

References:
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zest_(ingredient)
[2]http://www.athensfoods.com/recipes/recipeconsumer.aspx?recipe_id=135

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Meaty rice dilled fava bean;
Rice Dilled Fava beans is a traditionally developed recipe of cooked rice originally coming from north of Persia. The nice smell of the cooked dill and fava beans can be served Lamb shank or chicken.

INGREDIENTS
- 500 G (1 LB) Basmati lion grain rice
- 500 G (1 LB) meat (preferably lamb shank)
- 375 G (12 OZ) Dill
- 150 G (5 OZ) dried fava beans (or a 16 OZ can)
- 1 medium onion
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground saffron
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Method for Cooking Lamb shank:

1) Trim the meat of all fat, wash and drain.

2) Slice the onion to small pieces and fry them in 3 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan until it turns golden brown.

3) Add the meat, sprinkle pepper and brown it on all sides for less than 5 minutes then add up water.

4) Increase the oven temperature up to medium high until the water boils.

5) Close the lid, decrease the temperature to
medium or medium low and let the material be cooked slowly and thoroughly, which usually takes 90
minutes to two hours, until the gelatinous layer of the meat glaze is formed.

6) add salt and adjsut the seasoning. You may also add a few tiny little stripes of saffron to give more color and taste to the meat. Always make sure that there is a little or enough of gravy at the bottom of the pot.

Important point: If your pot runs out of water and the meat does not look very well-cooked, add up only “already boiled water”, no matter the boiled water is hot or cooled down.

Method to prepare Rice dilled fava bean:

1) Clean and wash the dill cutting out coarse stems, dry and chop finely.

2) If you use dried beans, cook them with 3-4 cups of water until they become moderately soft. (the stove temperature should be set to medium). You may remove the excess water or keep it to be mixed with the water in step 4.

3) Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in salted lukewarm water to cover by 2 inches for 1 hour.

4) Rinse the rice 3-4 times. and remove the excess water, add 1 cup of water per cup of rice and mix it with half-cooked fava beans. (If you have kept the water from step 2, adjust the ratio accordingly). Add 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil, mix them thourouly. Rapid boil the water.

5) Reduce the temperature to medium and let the water to dry-out a little bit. Poke 5 or 6 holes through the rice to the bottom with the handle of a spoon. Put the lid back on for about 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!

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