Dishes from Around the World

Baklava (Turkish)

Now Baklava isn't something I am too familiar with, but I am doing this blog to understand it more with you all. Baklava is a layered Turkish dessert, usually consisting of chopped nuts and a syrup or honey. Some of the nuts that are commonly used are walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. It is a sweet treat that was considered royalty up until the nineteenth century. From what I can see it is somewhat a tradition still to this day; the people with not a lot of money can't buy it every day, which in turn acts as if you are not rich.

Creativity/Customization

Baklava is a layered dessert pastry, but it doesn't have to be just a dessert. It can be a meal, an appetizer, or a snack because of its simplicity and how easy it is to change. You can do savory, sweet, or tart and you can pretty much do anything with Baklava. I haven't made Baklava, but I have tried my great grandmother's pot pie Baklava. She essentially made a beef pot pie, but instead of putting it in pie crust, she layered it between sheets of puff pastry and then drizzled the top with a brown gravy. It was really good, and I had seconds and thirds when she made it.

Assembly

The assembly of Baklava is pretty simple. First you need is filo pastry, which is a unleavened dough. Unleavened dough is just dough that is made without leavening agents, such as yeast. Next, you chop up whatever nuts you would like to add along with cinnamon, granulated sugar, water, honey (or syrup), you add it all together and cook it over the stove in a pot or a tall pan and let boil for four minutes. Remove it and let cool. After that, grease your pan and start layering, first with pastry, next with filling. Do it until you run out or have no more room. Bake at 325 F for about an hour or until the top is golden brown. When layering, make sure to butter all the sheets as to not stick so much.