Food Network: Baklava

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Baklava
(c) Chara Kourti, The Red Bicycle, Oia, Santorini

Ingredients
For the filling:
1 1/2 pounds finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

25 phyllo pastry sheets
2 cups unsalted butter, melted, plus more if necessary
10 to 12 whole cloves

For the syrup:
4 pounds sugar
7 tablespoons honey
7 cups water
2 whole cloves
1 tablespoon butter
1 (1-inch) cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F then reduce heat to
300 degrees F before adding the baklava.

Combine walnuts, cinnamon, ground cloves, sugar and bread crumbs together in a
large bowl.

Grease a baking pan with the melted butter. It should be the same size as the
sheets of pastry. Trim the pastry to fit, if needed.

Brush 1 sheet of pastry with melted butter and place in the bottom of the pan.
Repeat this until you have a layer about 5 or 6 sheets deep. Cover with some of
the nut filling. Place 2 more buttered pastry sheets on top and cover with more of
the nut filling. Continue the layers until all of the filling is used. Use the
last 4 or 5 of the buttered pastry sheets as the top layer.

Using a small sharp knife cut a diamond shaped pattern into the baklava, cutting

through the layers to the bottom of the pan. Stud the top of the baklava with the
whole cloves.

Bake in the center of the pre-heated oven for 1 1/2 hours. For fan-forced ovens it
may be necessary to cover the baklava with aluminum foil to prevent it becoming
too dark.

When baked through remove and cool to room temperature.

To make the syrup:
Place the sugar, honey, water, cloves, butter and cinnamon in a saucepan and stir
to combine. Boil for 7 to 10 minutes, then remove the cloves and cinnamon, with a
slotted spoon and add the lemon juice.

Pour the boiling syrup over the room temperature baklava. Allow to cool to the
touch and serve.

Cook's Note: If using frozen phyllo pastry defrost fully in the refrigerator
before using to prevent the sheets sticking together. Store the sheets between
damp tea towels while working, to prevent them drying out.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has
been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network
Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and
therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.