Delicious Australia - (11)November 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY

ANSON

SMART

PORTRAIT

PHOTOGRAPHY

JONATHAN

LOVEKIN

STYLING

STEVE PEARCE

THIS RECIPE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED

IN

THE NEW YORK TIMES

.^

WALNUT,CINNAMON

ANDHALOUMIBAKLAVA

MAKES 9 LARGE OR 16 SMALL PIECES

FILLING

30gunsaltedbutter,melted

11 / 2 cups(130g)walnuthalves,

roasted,finelychopped into

3mmpieces

(^3) / 4 tspgroundcinnamon
(^3) / 4 tspfreshlygratednutmeg
4 tspcastersugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
PASTRYSHEETS
16 sheetsfilopastry,roughly23cmx
23cm(iftheycomein different sizes,
justcutthemaccordingly)
70gunsaltedbutter,melted
140g coarsely grated haloumi
ROSEWATERSYRUP
(^3) / 4 cup(150g)castersugar
2 tbslemonjuice
11 / 2 tbsrosewater
1 tsp edible dried rose petals, to serve
Heatovento240°C.Forthefilling,mix
togetheralltheingredientsandsetaside.
Forthepastrysheets,placeonesheet
ofpastryin a 20cmx 20cmsquarebaking
pan,preferablyonewithlowedges,
arrangingthepastrysothesidesofthe
sheetriseupthesidesofthepan.Brush
witha littlebutterandcontinuein the
samewaywith7 moresheetsofpastry,
brushing each with butter, until you have
layered8 sheetsofpastry.Scatterthe
gratedhaloumiontopofthepastry.
Sprinkleallofthewalnutmixtureover
evenly.Placeanotherlayerofpastryon
top,pressingdownsecurely.Brushwith
morebutterandcontinuewiththe
remaining7 layersofpastryin thesame
way.Brushthefinallayerwithbutterand
useyourfingerstogentlytuckthepastry
edgesunderneaththebaklavasoyouget
aneatedge(a bitlikemakinga bed).
Usinga smallsharpknife,cutthebaklava
into9 or 16 pieces,allowingtheknife
almosttoreachthebottom,butnotquite.
Transfertoovenandbakefor 18 minutes,
turningthepanaroundhalfwaythrough
bakinguntilbaklavais dark golden-brown
andcrispontop.
Meanwhile,fortherosewatersyrup,
heatsugarand^1 / 3 cup(80ml)waterin a
smallsaucepanonmedium-highheatfor
2-3minutes,swirlingeveryoncein a while
untilthesugarhasdissolvedandstarted
toboil.Reducetheheattomedium-low.
Addlemonjuiceandrosewater,and
simmergentlyfor6-7minutesuntilyou
haveabout^3 / 4 cup(180ml)slightly
thickenedsyrupleft.Remove from the
heatandsetaside.
Assoonasthebaklavahasbeen
removedfromtheoven,pourtwo-thirds
ofthesyrupoverit andsprinklewith
rosepetals,crushingthemslightlyas
yougo.Setasidefor5 minutestocool
slightly,andthenserveeachslice
warm,withanextra 1-2 tsp of syrup
drizzled on top.
GOLDEN
LAYERS
YotamOttolenghiprovesthatnothingtopssheetsofpastry
drizzledwithfragrantsyrupandscatteredwithlusciouscheese.
Here’s a classic dessert with a savoury spin from the star chef.
YOTAM OTTOLENGHI.
54 delicious.com.au