Walnut and Pistachio Baklava

Before you start

Baklava is thin filo pastry layered with butter and chopped nuts, baked until crisp and then soaked with syrup. Versions are made across Greece, Turkey, the Levant and the Balkans, with different nuts, spices and sweeteners, and more than one region claims it. This one uses walnuts and pistachios with cinnamon, plus a syrup of sugar, honey and lemon.

Three choices decide whether it ends up crisp or soggy. Clarified butter has its water and milk solids removed, so the layers fry crisp instead of steaming. You cut the pastry before baking, because baked filo shatters under a knife. And you combine hot with cool: cooled syrup over hot-from-the-oven baklava, so the layers drink it in without going limp. Then let it rest for several hours, uncovered, so the syrup can settle into the layers.

Ingredients

• Syrup300 g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
• 240 ml (1 cup) water
• 120 g (⅓ cup) honey
• 1 strip lemon peel
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Filling250 g (2½ cups) walnuts
• 150 g (1¼ cups) shelled unsalted pistachios
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves
• Pastry450 g (1 lb) filo pastry (23 × 35 cm / 9 × 14 in sheets) — thawed overnight in the refrigerator, about 36 sheets
• 280 g (1¼ cups) unsalted butter — clarified to about 225 g

Method

1. Make the syrup first so it has time to cool. Simmer the sugar, water, honey, lemon peel and cinnamon stick for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the lemon juice, remove the peel and stick and cool to room temperature.
2. Clarify the butter: melt it over low heat, skim the foam, then pour the clear golden fat into a bowl, leaving the milky solids behind. Keep it warm and liquid.
3. Pulse the walnuts and pistachios until finely chopped, with a few pieces the size of lentils; do not grind them to a powder. Mix with the sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
4. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Unroll the filo and cover it with plastic wrap and a lightly damp towel so it does not dry out while you work.
5. Brush the pan with butter. Lay down 10 sheets, brushing each with butter. Spread half the nut filling evenly over the top.
6. Add 6 more sheets, buttering each, then the rest of the filling. Finish with the remaining sheets, about 20, buttering each one and brushing the top sheet generously.
7. With a sharp knife, cut the baklava into 6 long strips, then cut diagonally to make about 36 diamonds. Cut all the way to the bottom of the pan.
8. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until deep golden brown on top and the edges are bubbling and crisp. Pale baklava stays chewy after soaking.
9. As soon as it comes out, ladle the cooled syrup slowly over the hot pastry, letting it run into the cuts. It will sizzle. Leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 hours, or overnight, before serving.

Tips for success

• Torn filo sheets are fine in the middle layers; save the best sheets for the top and bottom.
• Brush butter gently with a soft brush, dabbing rather than dragging, so the thin sheets do not wrinkle or tear.
• Run the knife through the cuts again after baking if any pieces seem joined, then pour the syrup.

Substitutions

Walnuts and pistachios

All walnuts gives a softer, earthier filling; all pistachios gives a greener, sweeter and more expensive version. Almonds work but taste milder.

Honey in the syrup

Use all sugar (400 g total) for a cleaner, less floral syrup, or add 1 tbsp orange blossom water after cooling for a fragrant finish.

Clarified butter

Ghee is already clarified and works directly. Plain melted butter is possible but the layers come out softer and may brown unevenly.

Variations

Chocolate baklava

Scatter 80 g finely chopped dark chocolate over the nut layers before adding the next sheets.

Baklava rolls

Brush a filo sheet, sprinkle with nuts, roll around a thin dowel, slide it off and scrunch into a ruffled log; bake and syrup the same way.

Troubleshooting

Baklava turned soggy

Both the syrup and pastry were hot, or the pan was covered while warm. Pour cool syrup over hot baklava and leave it uncovered to set.

Top layers lifted and curled

The top sheets were not buttered well or the cuts were shallow. Brush the top layers thoroughly and cut through all the way before baking.

Syrup crystallized into sugary crust

It was boiled too hard or stirred while simmering. Simmer gently and add the lemon juice, which helps prevent crystals.

Storage

Keep baklava loosely covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Refrigeration hardens the syrup and dulls the crisp layers. Freeze well-wrapped pieces for up to 3 months and thaw uncovered at room temperature.

Safety notes

Contains tree nuts (walnut, pistachio), wheat and milk. Honey should not be given to infants under 1 year old.