Gaziantep Pistachio Baklava

Method

1. Put the sugar and water in a small pot and bring to the boil on high heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then lower to medium-low heat and simmer without stirring for 12 min. Once cool it should flow like runny honey. Add the lemon juice, turn off the heat and let it cool completely to room temperature.

   Add in this stepWhite sugar 200 gWater 160 mlLemon juice 2 tsp

   high heat→medium-low heat

2. Clarify the butter. Melt it in a small pan on low heat and let it bubble gently for 12 min: white foam rises and milky solids sink to the bottom. Skim off the foam, then carefully pour the clear golden fat into a bowl, leaving the white sediment behind. With no water or milk solids, it won't burn and gives much crisper layers.

   Add in this stepUnsalted butter (to clarify) 180 g

   low heat

3. Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor in short bursts until they look like coarse sand with a few small chunks; process too long and they turn oily and pasty. Keep the remaining pistachios aside for the garnish.

   Add in this stepShelled unsalted pistachios 153 g

4. Brush a 20×15 cm tin with clarified butter. Lay in filo sheets trimmed to the tin one at a time, brushing each very thinly with clarified butter, until you have used half the filo (about 10–12 layers). A thin, even coat matters more than a thick one for crispness. Keep the rest of the filo under a damp tea towel.

   Add in this stepFilo pastry (store-bought; thawed if frozen) 125 g

5. Spread the ground pistachios evenly and press lightly with your palm to level them. Layer the remaining filo the same way, one sheet at a time with a thin coat of butter. Save about a third of the clarified butter.

   Add in this stepFilo pastry (store-bought; thawed if frozen) 125 g

6. With a very sharp knife, cut cleanly through to the bottom in a 3×4 grid. Heat the saved clarified butter on medium heat for 2 min until a scrap of filo dropped in sizzles at once, then ladle it evenly along the cuts. The hot butter runs between the sheets and lifts the layers apart. Don't heat it until it smokes, and pour slowly so it doesn't spatter.

   medium heat

7. Bake on the middle shelf (oven) for 55 min. The low, long bake dries out even the middle layers so they stay crisp to the end. Take it out when the top is an even light amber and the layers on the sides look dry and translucent.

   oven

8. Carefully tilt the tin and pour any excess butter pooled at the bottom into a heatproof bowl (it is very hot; wear oven gloves). Straight away, slowly pour the cold syrup along the cuts. Finely chop the remaining pistachios, sprinkle over each piece and leave uncovered at room temperature for at least 6 h to absorb the syrup.

   Add in this stepShelled unsalted pistachios 27 g