Baklava
Turkey's classic pastry: dozens of buttered filo layers around a walnut filling, baked until crisp and soaked in lemony syrup.
Method
Make the syrup first. Put the sugar and water in a small pot and bring to the boil on high heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer without stirring for , until slightly thickened; once cool it should be like runny honey. Add the lemon juice, turn off the heat and let it cool completely to room temperature. The lemon stops the syrup from crystallising.
Add in this stepWhite sugar 200 gWater 150 mlLemon juice 2 tsp
high heat→medium-low heatPreheat the oven to 175 °C. Melt the butter in a small pan on low heat for . Chop the walnuts by hand, or pulse briefly in a food processor, into coarse lentil-sized crumbs and mix with the cinnamon. Keep the filo in its packet until you need it; a few minutes in the open air dries it out and makes it crack.
Add in this stepUnsalted butter 120 gWalnuts 150 gGround cinnamon ½ tsp
low heatButter the inside of a 20×15 cm baking tin. Trim the filo sheets to fit the tin, or fold larger sheets in half. Lay down one sheet, brush it lightly all over with butter, and repeat until you have used half the filo (about 10–12 layers). Keep the rest covered with a damp tea towel so it doesn't dry out.
Add in this stepFilo pastry (store-bought; thawed if frozen) 125 g
Spread the walnut filling evenly over the pastry. Layer the remaining filo on top the same way, one sheet at a time, brushing each with butter. Give the top sheet a slightly more generous coat so it browns nicely. Wrinkles are fine; hide any torn sheets in the middle layers.
Add in this stepFilo pastry (store-bought; thawed if frozen) 125 g
Before baking, use a sharp knife to cut the baklava into a 3×4 grid of squares or diamonds, cutting right through to the bottom; baked filo shatters if you cut it later. Pour the remaining butter evenly over the top, especially into the cuts and around the edges.
Bake on the middle shelf (oven) for , until the top and the visible layers on the sides are deep golden and look dry and crisp. If it is still pale, give it a few more minutes, or it will turn soggy once the syrup goes on.
ovenAs soon as it comes out of the oven, slowly ladle the cooled syrup over the hot baklava, following the cuts; it should sizzle. Cool syrup on hot pastry is what keeps it crisp. Sprinkle with the pistachios and leave uncovered at room temperature for at least so the syrup soaks in.
Add in this stepPistachios, finely chopped (to garnish) 2 tbsp
Cook's tip
One of the two, syrup or pastry, must be cool: both hot gives a soggy baklava, both cold and the syrup won't soak in. Torn filo sheets are fine in the middle layers. Don't refrigerate it, as it turns hard; keep it loosely covered at room temperature and eat within 4–5 days.
Cooking it at camp
It needs an oven, so it is hard to bake at a campsite. Make it at home and pack it in an airtight box; it keeps for days without a cooler. If you really want to bake it outdoors, a small tin inside a Dutch oven with coals underneath and on the lid works, but the heat is hard to control, so check often that the bottom isn't burning.