Food Network: Baklava

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Baklava
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, Emeril's There's a Chef in My World, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York, 2006

Ingredients
For the Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 (1-inch) strip lemon zest
Pinch ground cloves
Pinch ground cardamom

For the filling and dough:

1 pound walnuts, or a combination of walnuts, pistachios and almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound phyllo, thawed according to package instructions

Instructions
To make the syrup: Combine the sugar, honey, water,
lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, lemon zest, cloves and cardamom in a medium
saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until
the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the syrup is
slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon zest
and set syrup aside to cool.

Using a Chef's knife, finely chop the nuts. (Alternatively, if you have a food
processor, pulse the nuts until finely chopped.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine
the nuts, cinnamon, and salt and stir well to combine.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan.

Using a pastry brush, lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch or 15 by 10-inch baking dish
with some of the melted butter.

Open the package of thawed phyllo and lay the thin sheets on a clean work surface.
Measure the phyllo sheets; if the type you have purchased measures approximately
the same size as the baking dish you are using, then proceed from here. If they
are larger than your baking dish, use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo sheets
approximately the same size as your baking dish. Discard any scraps. Cover the

sheets with a piece of plastic wrap and a lightly damp kitchen towel, as the
sheets of phyllo dry out very quickly if left uncovered.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 of the sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the buttered baking dish and
lightly brush with some of the melted butter. Repeat this procedure with 6 more
sheets of phyllo, for a total of 7 layers. Measure about 3/4 cup of the nut
mixture and spread the nut mixture evenly over the buttered phyllo sheets. Repeat
with 7 more sheets of phyllo, buttering each layer as before, and top these sheets
with another 3/4 cup of the nut mixture. Continue this layering process, buttering
7 sheets of phyllo and topping each 7 sheets with 3/4 cup of the nuts, until you
have used all of the nut mixture. Layer any remaining sheets of phyllo on top,
buttering between each layer, until all of the phyllo sheets have been used.

Use a sharp knife to make 4 cuts lengthwise through the layered phyllo at 1 1/2
inch intervals. (You should end up with 5 lengthwise strips 1 1/2 inches wide.)
Now use your knife to cut diagonally across the strips at 1 1/2-inch intervals to
form diamond shapes. You should end up with approximately 36 diamond-shaped pieces
of baklava in the baking dish.

Bake the baklava until golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baklava from the oven and set aside on
a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Using a ladle or small measuring cup, slowly
drizzle the cooled syrup over the warm baklava. Allow to stand several hours
before serving.