Baklava

  

               

Recipe by Maria Savvenas

Ingredients:
Filling:

• 3 cups walnuts
• 3 cups almonds
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• Grand Marnier, generous splash    (maybe 2 oz.)

Pulse walnuts and almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Combine walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, and enough Grand Marnier to slightly moisten the mixture in a bowl. Set aside.

Assembly:

• One Athens 1 lb. box fillo dough, at room temperature
• 3/4 lb. Plugra Sweet Cream European-style butter, melted

Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 in. baking pan generously with butter. Working with one fillo sheet at a time, remove the top sheet, and replace the dry and wet tea towels back on the stack. Arrange one sheet at the bottom of the pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the fillo sheet with melted butter, first at the edges and then in the middle. Repeat until the bottom layer is 8 sheets thick, each brushed generously with butter. Spread 1/3 of the filling evenly over the top. Layer 4 more sheets, buttering each. Spread another 1/3 of the filling evenly on top. Layer 4 more sheets, buttering each. Spread the remaining 1/3 of the filling evenly. Layer up to 8 or more sheets of fillo, buttering each. This is your top layer. It can be as thick as you choose. Score the baklava into squares or diamonds. Dot any remaining butter evenly all over. Sprinkle a few drops of water over the top and place pan in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 1 hour until golden brown. Check at 40 minutes, but as long as 1 1/2 hours may be needed for fillo dough to be as golden brown as desired. In the meantime prepare the syrup.

Syrup:

• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1 Cup Honey
• Cinnamon Stick
• One lemon slice

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large sauce pan. Allow to simmer for at least five minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and lemon slice and any foam that accumulates. As soon as you pull the baklava out of the oven, ladle the hot syrup evenly over the top. Allow the baklava to cool and absorb the syrup completely. It keeps at room temperature for up to 10 days in an air-tight container. Baklava may certainly be refrigerated, but the honey will crystallize and may alter the texture. 

Working with Fillo Dough: Remove fillo dough from freezer and leave overnight in refrigerator. At least two hours before preparation, leave the box on the kitchen counter to fully come to room temperature. Remove fillo dough from box and unroll carefully. Lay it flat on the counter top with its plastic membrane underneath and a dry and a wet tea towel on top to prevent the dough from drying out. If the top sheets are too wet, rotate to the bottom. It is important to work quickly at this point. You may rotate the stack a few more times as needed. Assemble as directed by recipe.

Spanakopita - Enjoy a Greek Spinach Pie

Many years ago, my good friend Maria Savvenas was a guest chef at Harter House World Flavors Sampling Station she demonstrated how to make Spanakopita, a Greek Spinach Pie.

At that time, I had eaten it before but had never made it myself. So I watched her put them together into small triangles and of course, she made it look SO easy. So I purchased all the ingredients and decided I would attempt to make them at home. Which I did do.  It was time consuming, it took me at least 3 hours, but OMG, it was so worth it. I did get faster the next time because I then had a better understanding of the process. The time consuming part is taking the Fillo Dough, one sheet at a time, and basting each sheet with butter, using 4 sheets for each triangle, and trying to get them right on top of the 1st sheet.  Today I feel like a pro.  I make it often, my family loves it, and I love to take it when I need to "bring a dish" to my holiday parties.

Working with Phyllo Dough

I put wax paper on the counter, unroll the Fillo dough on the wax paper, and put another piece of wax paper on top of the phyllo dough, then put a damp towel on top to keep the phyllo dough from drying out. It's nearly impossible to work with the Fillo dough after it starts to dry out.

I was able to get 16 Spanakopita triangles from this recipe and 1 box of Athen's Fillo Dough.

 

Maria also told me that if I want to make a lot for a large group that I can use a 9x13 pan, putting phyllo dough on the bottom of the pan, then the mixture, another layer of Fillo Dough and mixture, and top with more phyllo dough sheets. Same process of buttering each layer.

Spanakopita

1 lb. Spinach (baby – Large Container)

2 Leeks – chopped

Large Onion – chopped

1 bunch Green onion – Chopped

2-3 cloves of Garlic – Chopped or minced

Dill

2 Eggs

2 Cups Crumbled Feta

1 tsp. Salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 lb. Fillo Dough

1 cup salted butter, melted

1) Remove fillo from Freezer and put it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. As you prepare the filling, remove fillo from the fridge and leave on the counter

2) Sauté onion, leeks, green onion and garlic over medium high heat until softened. Add Spinach, wilting the leaves. Remove pan from heat. Add Salt, pepper, dill, and feta mixing well. Then add slightly beaten eggs, stirring well – to blend the ingredients. Set mixture aside.

3) Unroll fillo dough from package. Lay it out flat on the countertop. Wet a dishtowel to cover the fillo you are not using to keep it from drying out. Use a sharp knife to cut fillo in half lengthwise to create two columns of equal size. Cover one column with a damp towel. Use other column to begin assembling.

4) Take one sheet and brush with melted butter, and then place another sheet on top of the buttered side and brush with butter again. Repeat until you have four layers of fillo.

5) Place butter fillo in front of you lengthwise. (The wider side toward you)

  Drain spinach mixture in a colander. Press mixture with the back of a spoon to remove excess moisture. Take a Tbl. of spinach mixture and place it on the bottom inside corner of the fillo. Take the corner of the dough, underneath the spinach mixture so that the corner meets flush with the other side. Continue folding until there is no more fillo and you have a triangle.

6) Repeat until fillo or mixture is gone. Place on a baking sheet and brush each triangle with more butter

7) Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the fillo dough is golden.  

Tips

I like to use Plugra European Butter.

        

I also like Athenos Feta Cheese. 
Plain or mix it up with flavored varieties.

I like to chop all my vegetables before I start.  They tend to cook faster than I can cut. 

           

Open a bottle of your favorite wine and consume while cooking.

    

Find everything you need at Harter House

and Harter House World Flavors.