Baklava (Persian)

Ingredients:

Syrup

2/3 to 3/4 cup of sugar

1 1/4 cup water

3-4 pieces of lemon rind (only), Use potato peeler

5 cloves

2 inch pieve of cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

2 tsp Rosewater

Baklava filling

14 cardamon cloves, ground in 1-2 tsp of granulated sugar until powdered

2 3/4 cup walnuts copped small

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 - tsp Orange Blossom water

Other

Chopped Pistaccios

1 pkt (of 2) Filo Pastry

1 stick melted butter

9 by 13 in baking tray, lightly buttered

Round Dowel for rolling baklava

1. Boil Syrup ingredients until sugar dissolves; continue boiling until syrup reduces a little. Cool

2. Just before rolling baklava sheets...combine Cardamom and powdered sugar, mix sugars into walnuts, sprinkle orange blossom water evenly and mix again

3. Butter baking tray

4a. Working landscape mode: Using brush butter 1 sheet pilo pastry lightly, layer with another sheet and butter lightly

4b. Cover roughly 1/3 of middle section with nut mixture

4c. Using the dowel, roll pastry (to create a long roll); then push pastry towards the middle to wrinkle

4d. Push pastry from dowel. The finished length of the pastry should be the approx length of the shorter side of the baking pan.

4e. Cut pastry in half and then quarter. Place in pan and repeat.

5. Using brush, lightly butter top of pastry

6. Bake at 325 for 45- 50 mins until pastry is a golden brown

7. Pour Cooled syrup immediately onto (hot) pastry

8. Sprinkle chopped Pistaccios