Let's make Baklava

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"Do you know what my favorite dessert is?" asked the Romanian chef of this prominent Italian Restaurant across from Rome's Colloseum.

As he had just brought us plates full of delicious Tiramisu, I looked at him and confidently said "Tiramisu?" he said "No" and smiled while me and 7 others were watching him in curiosity. He said "My favorite dessert is Baklava". Some of us were shocked (especially our Anglo-saxon friends) and others (Turks) were proud. "My mother" said the Romanian chef "used to cook baklava, dolma, sarma, bulgur, revani.." and the list went on..

How did Baklava become the most favorite dessert of this Romanian and his mother? And the Greeks, Albanians, Persians, Lebanese, Syrians, Georgians, Armenians.. They all learned it from Turks in Ottoman era.

Turkish city Gaziantep's baklava is very famous around the world and there are even Turkish baklava stores in Athens.

Here is a small recipe to show you how it is cooked.

• 3/4 Pound Butter (3 Quarter-Pound Sticks) Cut Into 1/4.Inch Bits
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 40 Sheets File Pastry,
• Each About 16 inches Long And 12 Inches Wide, Thoroughly Defrosted If Frozen
• 4 Cups Shelled Pistachio Pulverized In A Blender Or With A Nut Grinder

Melt the butter slowly over low heat without letting it get brown, skimming off the foam as it rises to the surface. Remove the pan from the heat, let it rest for 2 or 3 minutes, then spoon off the clear butter and discard the milky solids at the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degree and stir the vegetable oil into the clarified butter. Using a pastry brush coat the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-by-2 1/2inch baking dish with about 1 tablespoon of the mixture.

Fold a sheet of filo in half crosswise, lift it up gently and unfold it into the prepared dish. Press the pastry flat, fold down the excess around the sides and flatten it against the bottom. Brush the entire surface of the pastry lightly with the butter and oil mixture, and lay another sheet of filo on top, folding it down and buttering it in similar fashion. Sprinkle the pastry evenly with about 3 tablespoons of pistachio.

Repeat the same procedure using two sheets of buttered file and 3 tablespoons of the pulverized pistachio each time to make 19 layers in all. Spread remaining 2 sheets of filo on top and brush the baklava with all of the remaining butter and oil mixture.

With a small, sharp knife score the top of the pastry with parallel diagonal lines about 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches apart, then cross them diagonally to form diamond shapes. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degree and bake for 45 minutes longer, or until the top is crisp and golden brown.

SYRUP : 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon honey. Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and, stirring constantly, cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and, timing it from the moment the syrup boils, cook briskly, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, or until the syrup reaches a temperature of 220 degree on a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the honey. Pour the syrup into a bowl or pitcher and set it aside. When the baklava is done, remove it from the oven and pour the syrup over it. Cool to room temperature, and just before serving, cut the baklava into diamond-shaped serving pieces