Baklawa

Someone called me today and asked me for my baklawa recipe. I had to think for a moment. Not because I didn't know it off the top of my head, but because I actually sell the finished product. My quandry was, do I short the recipe or give it out whole heartedly. I can't say that it was a difficult decision, more a sun shower than a maelstrom, but it did make me take pause. 


In the end, I gave the recipe whole, and wholeheartedly. It's the last week before Shavuot, I have been studying Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers. So much of this unit of the Oral Torah involves our relationships with other people. In Chapter 5, Mishna 13, it says, "One who says, 'what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours, he is the average person. Some say this was the characteristic of Sodom." I was intrigued when I read this. The middle way is the character of Sodom? Sodom! As in, flipped over in the dessert with no remnant of it's existence other than a desert full of salt? Being average is deserving of that?


It turns out that being average is not the issue. The problem with "average" is that in this case it meant being content to be selfish. The attitude that what is in my possession is mine is simply misguided. Believing that I am deserving of it is completely delusional. It's kind of like the professional athlete who claims that he has a G-d given talent and that he is deserving of multiple millions of dollars for having the good sense to put it to use. With that in mind, I really had no choice to share the recipe. It certainly wasn't mine, having been gleaned from innumerable teachers. And as for the money I'm making, even that I only get because I have the occassional good sense to put this recipe to use. So, having shared the recipe with one friend, I figured I should share it with you all. Enjoy!


Ingredients

• 1 cup of water
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamon (optional)
• 3 cups almonds
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 stick butter (or margarine if you want it pareve)
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 lb box of #10 filo, thawed

Directions for the Syrup

1. Dissolve sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring the solution to a soft boil and let it boil for 5-7 minutes. Take the solution off the heat. 
2. Stir in cardoman and the rose/orange blossom water.
3. Let the solution cool to room temperature while assembling the baklawa.

Directions for Baklawa

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Melt the butter together with the oil in a saucepan on low heat. Keep warm so that the butter doens't set up again.
3. Grind the almonds and walnuts together in a food processor, along with the cinnamon and the 1/4 cup of sugar, and one tablespoon of the butter and oil mixture. Set aside.
4. Open the filo, unfolding or unrolling in onto a piece of plastic wrap. Count the number of sheets that you have. Subtract 4 (three) from that number, and then divide that number in half. Remember this number, as this is the base of you baklawa.  Cover the filo sheets with plastic wrap or a towel. This is critical as the filo will tend to dry out quickly.
5. Prepare your pan or cookie sheet by covering it with parchment paper.
6. Using a pastry brush, brush oil on the bottom of the parchment paper. Begin the process of building the baklawa by laying down layer of filo and then brushing it well with the butter mixture. Repeat until you have completed all the layers in the base of your baklwawa (the number you calculated in step 3).
7. Take one quarter of the nut mixter and sprinkle evenly over the filo dough. Cover with a single layer of filo dough and brush thoroughly with the oil mixture. Repeat until all the nuts have been used up.
8. Complete the construction of your baklawa by layering filo and oil until all the sheets have been used up.
9. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into squares (generally, you create a grid that is 4 x 6). Then cut the filo diagonally, dividing each square into a triangle, creating 48 pieces of filo.
10. Place in the oven a bake 45-60 minutes, until the baklawa is lightly golden on top.
11. Remove from the oven and let is cook 5-10 minutes. Using a ladel, pour the syrup over the baklawa, following the cut lines.
12. Let the baklawa cool completely, and serve at room temperature.