Green fig baklava
Makes 12–14 slices (depending onthe
thickness of the slices)
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Baking time: about 45 minutes
Oven temperature: 180°C
- 1 bottle green fig preserve (youneed
10–12 figs and about 200ml syrup) - 1 packet (500g) phyllo pastry, thawed
- 250g butter, melted
FILLING - 8–12 green figs, roughly chopped
- 750ml mixed nuts, roughly chopped
- 60ml sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
1 Drain the green figs and place 200ml
syrup in the refrigerator to chill. (Ifyouhave
too little, boil equal quantities of waterand
sugar for 5 minutes once the sugarhas
dissolved and top up the green figsyrup
with this.)
2 Mix the chopped green figs, nuts,sugar
and zest in a food processor and blendinto
a coarse paste. Set aside.
3 Decide whether you want to makea
round or square baklava. We madea round
one in a 23cm cake pan. Brush it with
butter, ready to start stacking. Dividethe
phyllo sheets into four batches. Takethe
first batch (keep the rest under a damptea
towel to prevent them from drying outwhile
you work), brush with butter one byone
and stack on top of each other. Trimthe
stack into the shape of your pan. Tryto use
as much of the extra pastry in the stackas
possible to make it thicker.
4 Place the stack in the preparedpan
and spoon a third ofthe
nut-and-green-figfillingin
an even layerontop;
press downfirmly.
Brush thenext
stackof pastrywithbutterandplaceontop.
Coverwithanotherthirdof thefilling,another
stackof pastry,thefinalthirdof thefilling
andlastlywiththefinalstackof phyllo.
5 Preheattheoven.Cutthebaklavainto
slicesbutonlyhalfwaythroughthelayers
(it is onlycutrightthroughwhenit comes
outof theoven,butit’sessentialthatyou
cutit halfwayto makeit easierto divide
later).Bakefor 30 minutesat 180°Cand
thenincreasetheoventemperatureto
200°Cforabout 10 moreminutesor untilit
hasturneda deepgoldencolour.
6 Removethebaklavafromtheovenand
cutthroughto thebottom.Keepit in the
panandpourthecoldsyrupover
immediatelysoit canbeproperly
absorbed.Letthebaklavacoolandserve
chilledwithsweetwineanda dollopof
thickGreekyoghurtor frozenyoghurt
(seeboxopposite).Stuffedcalamari
Serves4–6asa starter
Preparationtime: 30 minutes
Cookingtime: 15 minutes- 20medium-sizedcalamaritubes,
soakedin milkfor1 hour* - about125mlcreamcheese
- about100gfetacheese,crumbled
- a sprinklingof freshoriganum
- 20mildpeppadews
- about45mloliveoil
- lemonjuiceandlemonzestto taste
1 Rinsethecalamaritubesundercold
runningwateranddrythoroughlywitha
kitchencloth(papertowelsstick).Makesure
thefinsandanyotherhardcartilagehas
beenremoved.
2 Mixthecreamcheeseandfeta.
Seasonto tastewitha little
freshlygroundblackpepper,a feworiganumleavesandlemon
zest.Stuffthepeppadewswiththemixture
andpush1 stuffedpepperintoeach
calamaritube.If youhaveleftovercream
cheesemixture,alsodivideit betweenthe
tubes,thensecuretheopenendwitha
toothpick(ordoasthepuristsdoandsewit
closedwithneedleanddarkthreadsothatit
canbeeasilyremoved).
3 Heattheoliveoilin a deeppanandfrythe
tubescarefullyin batches.It alwayslooks
goodif thetubesbrownslightlybutdon’t
overcookthem.Aftera fewminuteson
eachside,thetubesshouldnolongerbe
translucent;theymustbecookedbutstill
tender.Servehotwithanextrasprinklingof
origanumandlemonjuiceto taste.Pan-fried
cherrytomatoesarealsodeliciousif you
wanta sauce.Fry the tomatoes in a knob of
butter once the calamari tubes are done.
* It may be a myth but I think the calamari
turns out better when it’s marinated.[CALAMARI TENTACLES]
Soak the tentacles with the
calamari tubes in milk for about
1 hour. Pat dry and mix with
cornflour well-seasoned with salt
and freshly ground black pepper.
If you want to fry additional crispy
calamari tubes, score lightly with a
butter knife on one side of the tubes;
this gives it a nice pattern and a
crispier end result. Shake off any
excess cornflour and deep-fry in a few
centimetres of oil in a pot until
golden-brown and crunchy. Drain on
paper towels and serve with extra lemon
juice and good quality mayonnaise
as a dipping sauce if
you’re feeling
indulgent. >>Frozen yoghurtMediterranean flavours food