Baklava

The highlight of my year was definitely our trip to Greece (you can see the photographs here, here and here). I love taking trips that make you feel like a completely different person -  trips that expose you to new walks of life, history and amazing food.  While we were on the island of Paros, we drove up winding mountainous roads to Lefkes, a charming white-washed village with pockets of Byzantine influence.  It was there that we had the most amazing baklava on our trip. We were wandering the narrow roads when we came across a little shop run by an elderly Greek woman.  She sliced us both two large pieces of baklva that we decided to eat once we got back to our hotel - it was divine.  The flaky phyllo dough layers melted in your mouth while the sweetness of honey and aromatic cinnamon made you close your eyes to relish the moment.  It was since that very moment in May that I have wanted to make this pastry, so I finally did and it just so turns out that baklava is very appropriate to the season, as it infuses honey, cinnamon and cloves.  I used this recipe and was blown away by the results.  The only thing that was missing was a caffè freddo (a Greek specialty) and a view of the Aegean Sea.  

(The filling - walnuts and almonds)

A Few Things: Phyllo dough is very fragile, so just be prepared to work quickly as if it gets exposed to too much air, it will dry out and break making it impossible to work with.  For the filling, you can use a variety of nuts, I opted to used half blanched almonds and half walnuts.  Finally for the most authentic version, this recipe calls for either sugar or honey - use honey as this is what they use in Greece and in other Middle Eastern countries, you will not be disappointed.  

*All photographs by Alison