Jordan

JORDAN: Baklava

Baklava is everywhere in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East and each country has it’s own variation on the original. Had hoped to find a distinctly Jordanian recipe, but no luck. I made a couple of changes to the recipe below: split walnuts with pistachios and added a bit of orange blossom water to the syrup. Always a winner and another fun one to make.

Now to the Ks…

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INGREDIENTS:

16 oz walnuts
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (or ground cloves)
1/4 tsp salt
16 oz phyllo dough* thawed
1 cup butter melted
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup good quality honey**
1 cinnamon stick
1 strip orange peel
1 strip lemon peel

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pulse the walnuts in a food processor with the cinnamon, cardamom, and salt until well chopped.

To assemble the baklava, place 8 layers of phyllo dough one-by-one on the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan, brushing each lightly with butter.

Spread 1/5 of the walnut mixture evenly on top (about 2/3 cup).

Add another 5 layers of phyllo one-by-one, brushing each with butter, then add another layer of nuts. The total sequence should be phyllo layers of 8,5,5,5,5,8, with nuts in between those layers.

Bake the baklava for 50 minutes, until golden on the edges and tops.

In the meantime, bring all the syrup ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the citrus peels and cinnamon stick, and pour the hot syrup evenly over the baklava. 

Let the baklava cool completely at room temperature for 8 hours (uncovered, to prevent sogginess).