Walnut-Honey Pastry / Baklavá

Baklavá is a sweet pastry made with phyllo dough, so read over the instructions on page 22 for tips on working with the fragile phyllo sheets.

Syrup ingredients:
1 c. sugar*
1 c. water
1½-inch-thick slice lemon
1 stick cinnamon
1 c. honey

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon, and cinnamon.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Remove pan from heat. Stir in honey and cool well. When cool, remove the lemon and cinnamon.

Pastry ingredients:
4 c. (1 lb.) finely ground walnuts
2 c. (½ lb.) finely ground blanched or unblanched almonds
¼ c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1½ c. (3 sticks) butter, melted
1 1-lb. package phyllo dough, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
2. In a large bowl, combine walnuts, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. Butter a 9X13-inch pan with 2 tbsp. butter. Place 4 sheets of phyllo in the pan, brushing each with melted butter before adding the next. Butter the fourth sheet also.
4. Sprinkle ½ to ³/₄ c. of nut mixture over the phyllo. Top nut mixture with 2 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet well.
5. Continue alternating nut mixture with 2 sheets buttered phyllo until both are used up, ending with phyllo. Brush top with butter.
6. With a sharp knife, trim off any excess phyllo on the sides of the pastry.
7. With a sharp knife, cut 1½-inch-wide lengthwise strips in the dough. (Do not cut all the way through the dough. Cut through the top layer only.)
8. Make 1½-inch diagonal cuts to cre-ate diamond-shaped pieces. (Cut through the top layer only.)
9. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
10. Cut through diamonds completely with a sharp knife. Immediately pour the cooled syrup over hot pastry.
11. Cool and serve on dessert plates.

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Makes about 3 dozen pieces

*If you prefer a baklavá that is less sweet, reduce the amount of sugar by half.

Baklavá is perhaps the most famous of Greek desserts.The pastry is made with walnuts, honey, and phyllo.