It’s the end of our first winter in Portugal—just beautiful. I wish I could express the loveliness that surrounded us this morning. The light was awe-inspiring, golden and clear, clean and divine.
There are two magnolia trees right outside the entrance door, so I see them every time I come and go. In Winter, they are both completely uninhibitedly bare. Standing together side by side, in all of their euphoric natural beauty. They are lovely, with their knobbly tendrils and smooth, graceful limbs. There are small buds. Lots and lots of them getting bigger and bigger, almost bursting with their divine essence. The other morning there was a splash of color, just a little at first, and now, soft blushes of the loveliest pink.
tip
Traditionally, baklava is made with honey. However, in Ayurveda, honey should never be cooked, boiled, or baked. At high temperatures, honey becomes non-homogenized and gluelike, increasing the body’s toxicity. I replaced the honey with maple syrup, and it had wonderful results!
baklava
This is a recipe from Kristin, which she made on more than one occasion when our house was overflowing with special guests for our teacher’s workshop in Israel. We make it for very special occasions in her honour.
ingredients
1 packet phyllo dough (18 sheets)
450 grams chopped small nuts – walnuts, pistachios, pecans, almonds (I use 350g walnuts and 100g pistachios)
1 cup butter or ghee, melted
3 tsp cinnamon powder
generous pinch rock salt
for the syrup
⅓ cup water
⅓ cup raw brown sugar
6 cardamom pods
⅔ cup maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
prepare the syrup
- Place the water, sugar, and cardamom pods in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add maple syrup and vanilla, and stir until well blended. Set aside and allow to cool.
grind the nuts
- Grind the nuts in a food processor, using the on/off pulsing action until roughly chopped. I like them quite chunky and not too powdery fine. Then, place them in a bowl with the cinnamon powder and salt, mixing well.
cut the phyllo
- Unroll the phyllo dough and cut it with scissors to the size of your tray. I used an approximately 23 x 32 cm tray. Cover with a damp cloth so it does not dry out.
assemble the baklava
- With a pastry brush, brush the tray’s surface with melted butter. Then, place one phyllo sheet in the bottom of the dish and brush with butter. Continue with seven more sheets, brushing each individually.
- Spread half the nut mixture over the phyllo sheets, then layer two more sheets of phyllo pastry, brushing each individually. Spread the rest of the nut mixture, then layer eight more sheets on top—butter each layer.
- Brush the top with butter. Using a sharp knife, cut all the baklava into diamonds by slicing straight across in one direction and diagonally in the other direction. Make sure you cut all the way through the layers. (This is done before baking, as it will be very fragile after it’s been baked.)
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden, and remove the baklava from the oven.
- Remove the cardamom pods from the syrup and pour evenly over the already-cut baklava. Let it sit until it reaches room temperature, at least an hour. Cut through the same lines before serving.
variations
- Replace the butter with mild-tasting olive oil or vegan butter for a vegan version.
- Instead of brushing each layer, after slicing the baklava, pour the melted butter over the top and then bake. The butter seeps through each layer, making its way to the centre of each piece as it bakes, resulting in perfectly cooked baklava without tedious layering.
Goodness shared from Stacey
