“I am not rich enough to eat baklava every day”: the Middle Eastern treat has a layered history. From 1843mag
ach country finds its own way to get its sugar fix. The crackly burnished sugar on top of a pot of crème brûlée in France. The grainy buttery sugar of a slab of Scottish tablet. The caramelised, milky sugar of, slathered on toast or pancakes. The intensely processed sugar of the high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens the chocolate drizzle, ice cream and brownie chunks of an American sundae.
Across the Middle East and Turkey, bakery shelves heave with a variety of syrup-soaked pastries. You can find diamonds of, a cake made from semolina and drenched with syrup scented with rose or orange blossom. Coils of, shredded pastry filled with a creamy cheese or nuts and doused in yet more floral syrup., which literally means “women’s upper arms”, crunchy, plump little cigars of filo pastry, stuffed with cream, fried and steeped in syrup or honey.
Even without the sultans and their acolytes, baklava still evokes a sense of ceremony. Feast days, religious or otherwise, to celebrate both the living and the dead, are occasions for baklava. So, too, are visits by friends.
Then come the nuts. Gaziantep baklava is famously made with pistachios. Iran favours the same. Elsewhere walnuts are popular – bringing a welcome hint of bitterness against the sweetness of the syrup – as are almonds. Whichever variety you use, they should be finely chopped but not ground to a paste. The texture is essential. You don’t need any sugar, given the deluge of syrup to come. Only butter – a little to unite the nuts and more to separate the pastry – is necessary.
Last, add the syrup. A simple one of sugar and water is a good start. The addition of honey brings a different kind of sweetness, a splash of lemon juice a gratifying contrast. Orange-blossom water and rose water are traditional but potent, and should be used sparingly. The syrup, however, should not. Don’t be shy with it: embrace the sugar. Unusually, Roden recommends chilling the syrup before pouring it over the pastries the moment they come out of the oven .
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