We all found different ways to fill the time during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, the kitchen became a refuge. For Nataly Tachamichian it already was, but with an excess of time on her hands she could experiment with new recipes.
One of those recipes was baklava, which she first learned to make around Christmas. This famous middle eastern pasty is a unique dessert which on the surface looks very difficult to make. Nataly showed us how simple it can be, with the right ingredients and some patience.
Watch the video to see how!
Nataly’s Baklava Tips
The phyllo is a critical part of the baklava. Nataly tells us that when we’re not using the phyllo, it can dry out really quickly, so you should cover it with a damp towel.
She begins by brushing her baking sheet with butter. “Make sure your butter is always warm” she tells us. It will behave better and be more gentle on the phyllo later.
“And make sure you’re going to the sides,” she adds, otherwise the baklava will stick to the edge of the sheet when it’s cooked!
While Nataly uses walnuts for her baklava, you can also use pistachios, or a mix! But she doesn’t think the pistachios in Toronto compare to the ones in the middle east, so just uses walnuts.
She loses count and ends up with ten layers of phyllo on her base. That’s ok though, “you can do eight, ten, twenty, whatever you like.”
Satisfied with ten, she grabs her walnuts and spoons them into the center of the sheet, then smooths them down to nearly the edges of the pan, but not all the way.
Nataly tells us that the nuts will fall out of the pastry if you have them on the edges. This way you’ll end up with a bit of a crust, but you don’t need to serve that part. Besides, she likes the crust.
Before she covers the nuts, she brushes butter on the next sheet of phyllo. Then she puts that sheet butter-side-down on the nuts, and brushes more butter on top. “You can’t brush the walnuts, or then your brush would be walnuts,” she says.
She layers the phyllo on top until she runs out of butter, which ends up at approximately eight layers. That’s ideal.
With the layers finished, she slices her baklava diagonally both ways to make diamonds. She cuts each length twice to make sure the bottom is cut. She then puts the tray in the oven.
After fifteen minutes, she switches the oven from bake to broil, to add to the browning of the top of the baklava. She tells us that she thinks using a stainless steel pan gives the baklava more colour than non-stick pans.
Once out of the oven, she pours simple syrup over the tray. She prefers to use less simple syrup first. It’s easier to fix something not sweet enough, than too sweet.
Nataly also gave us a great simple syrup recipe, which includes a hint of lemon.
Enjoy this fantastic desert on it’s own, or with Armenian coffee!
Dietary Notes
Peanut free (contains nuts), vegetarian
What you’ll need
These ingredients are for a small baking sheet (9” x 13” or 23 x 33 cm), for larger pans the recipe should be doubled.
1 cup (240 mL) butter (melted)
1 cup (240 mL) walnuts (crushed)
¼ cup (60 mL) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) cinnamon
16 sheets of baklava phyllo paper cut to the dimensions of your sheet
Simple syrup to glaze
Steps
When not using the phyllo paper, cover it with a damp towel
Melt butter, and brush the bottom of your baking sheet. (Note: Use a baking sheet you can cut your baklava in later. This can damage some sheets.)
Add your first layer of phyllo paper, and brush it with butter. Add the second, and brush it with butter too. Repeat this until you’ve reached 8 sheets in thickness.
Combine your crushed walnuts with your sugar and cinnamon, then spoon the mixture onto the phyllo. Spread the nuts to ½ inch (1 cm) from the edge of the pan, and smooth the layer so it is even.
Brush a sheet of phyllo paper with butter, and then place it butter-side down on the nuts. Then brush the top with butter too.
Layer 7 more sheets of phyllo paper on top, brushing each with butter.
Cut the baklava into diamonds by cutting diagonally across your baking sheet.
Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. For the last minute of cooking, switch your oven to broil to further brown the top.
Ladle simple syrup over the finished baklava so that the surface is coated to your liking, and serve!
Dietary Notes
Dairy free, gluten free, nut free, peanut free, vegan, vegetarian
What you’ll need
2 cups (480 mL) sugar
1 cup (240 mL) water
Fresh lemon juice
Steps
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly
Take off the heat, and add a splash of lemon juice
Allow the mixture to cool, and then store it in a sealed container until you need it!
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