Coconut And Pistachio Baklava Recipes

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely ground (or you can chop them by hand until very finely chopped). Don't overprocess the nuts. You want to maintain some texture.
• Clarify the butter by melting it over low heat, then letting it cook until the foam rises to the top and the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan. This will take about 5 to 15 minutes depending upon how high your heat is, but don't rush it or the butter could burn.
• Skim foam off the top of the melted butter. Line a fine-mesh sieve with a piece of cheesecloth, place it over a bowl and pour the melted butter through.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees and brush the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a little of the clarified butter.
• Prepare the phyllo dough by trimming the stack of it with scissors to fit the bottom of your baking dish. Packages of phyllo come in different sizes; some won't need any trimming, some may need an inch or two cut off a side, and some may need to be cut in half crosswise. Cover phyllo layers with a lightly damp kitchen towel, and keep covered.
• Place 1 piece of phyllo on the bottom of the baking pan; brush lightly with clarified butter. Layer phyllo sheets on top, brushing each sheet with butter as you go, until half the phyllo is used.
• Spread pistachios on phyllo in an even layer, then layer with remaining phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter as you go (rewarm butter if necessary).
• Cut the pastry into 36 pieces, using clean up-and-down strokes and rotating the pan if necessary. Make sure to cut all the way through to bottom of pan. Pour any remaining butter evenly over pan.
• Bake baklava until the top is golden brown, and the lower phyllo layers beneath the pistachios are thoroughly baked through. To test this, use a knife to lift up a corner of one of the pastry rectangles from the center of the pan so you can peek at the bottom layers. Start checking after 40 minutes, but it could take an hour or even 1 hour 10 minutes. If the top starts to get too brown before the pastry is cooked through, lay a piece of foil over the top.
• Meanwhile, prepare sugar syrup: In a medium pot, combine sugar with 1 2/3 cups/400 milliliters water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in lemon juice.
• When the baklava is baked through, reheat the syrup until it comes to a simmer. Remove pan from oven and place in the sink or on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips of syrup. Slowly pour hot sugar syrup over the pastry; it will bubble up and some may overflow. When the syrup stops bubbling, move pan to wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

COCONUT AND PISTACHIO BAKLAVA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan.
• 2. Unfold the sheets of phyllo dough, lay the stack on a work surface, and cover with wax paper and then a damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out. Remove 2 pieces of phyllo, place them in the pan, and brush them with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Continue in the same way with the phyllo and butter until you have used 24 sheets of phyllo.
• 3. To make the filling: Stir together the coconut, pistachios, sugar, water, orange flower water, and salt in a medium bowl. Sprinkle half of the filling evenly over the phyllo in the pan. Place 2 sheets of phyllo in the pan and brush them with 1 tablespoon butter. Continue in the same way until you have used 12 sheets of phyllo. Spread the remaining filling on top. Layer and butter the remaining phyllo in the same way. Brush the top layer of pastry generously with butter, and pour any remaining butter over the top. With a sharp knife, cut the baklava lengthwise into 4 strips and then crosswise into 6 strips, taking care not to press down on the phyllo.
• 4. Bake for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F and bake for 1 hour and 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
• 5. To make the syrup: Bring the sugar, water, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the orange flower water and lime juice.
• 6. Transfer the baklava to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and pour the syrup evenly over the top. Let cool completely on the rack. (The baklava can be stored at room temperature, tightly covered, for up to 2 days.)
• 7. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife and serve.

PISTACHIO-WALNUT BAKLAVA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a9x-13-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and cloves in a small bowl. Mix pistachios and walnuts together in a separate bowl.
• Unroll phyllo sheets on a damp towel on a cutting board and cover with a second damp towel to keep them from drying out. Brush parchment paper with melted butter and place 1 phyllo sheet on top. Brush the sheet with butter and layer another sheet on top. Continue layering until you have used about 1/3 of the phyllo, brushing butter between each layer. Sprinkle 1/2 of spiced sugar and nuts on top.
• Continue layering another 1/3 of the phyllo sheets using the same method; sprinkle on remaining spiced sugar and nuts. Layer on the remaining 1/3 of the phyllo sheets and brush the top with butter. Fold over any overhanging phyllo dough and brush with butter to seal the edges.
• Cut slashes 2 inches apart into the dough, then diagonally across to form 2-inch diamonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the honey syrup. Combine water, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, honey, lemon juice, and orange blossom water in a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until baklava finishes baking.
• Immediately pour the hot honey syrup over the baklava and let sit until syrup is completely absorbed, 4 hours to overnight. Cut into diamond pieces following the scores made before baking. Serve at room temperature.