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Tired of the same old dessert night after night? Want something that will put the "WOW" back into your family's vocabulary? This recipe will show you how to make a mean and tasty Baklava! Try this scrumptious Greek dessert and you will be guaranteed to get a 5 star rating at your next sit down family gathering! more »
Nothing says decadence like a slice of baklava served with coffee. The richness of the honey, the protein in the nuts and the fat in the butter and nuts all mixed with the crisp dough make it a classic that has stood the test of time. Once served only in the home of the wealthy, it now is a classic served in almost every major city of... more »
Do you love Baklava but hate all the sugar calories? Give this a try. A flaky phyllo crust, honey flavoring, and a hint of ground nuts makes this cheesecake a spectacular treat. more »
As soon as the sun sets at the end of the last day of Passover, Jews in Morocco have traditionally hosted gala open houses called “Mimouna” (“MEE-moo-nah”) with holiday foods and symbolic items on the table. It celebrates not only the return to eating leavened breads (and cakes!) after the holiday, but also the bounty of the earth’s... more »
Selecting a good gift can be stressful and confusing. Maybe you have a good idea but just aren't sure about what size or color to choose. Forget about play guessing games with gifts of clothes and gadgets. Take the pressure off yourself and give easy food gifts. With so many different kinds of food gifts available you'll never give... more »
There's more to Greek food than baklava. Learn to make some tasty Greek favorites for your next...
The true origins of the dessert dish baklava are unknown. Many ethnic cultures from the Middle East claim the phyllo pastry sweet as their own,... more »
You can enjoy a taste of the Middle East with this recipe for baklava, a flaky, scrumptious dessert of Turkish origin dating back to the 15th... more »
Dripping with honey, baklava is a nut-filled dessert that you can buy at Greek restaurants but it did not originate in Greece. In fact, this... more »
Baklava is a luxurious treat with a Middle Eastern flavor. A deliciously sweet syrup is poured over layers of pastry to create a unique desert.... more »
Baklava is a beloved dessert in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Sweet, sticky and nutty, baklava can be easily stored and carried with you... more »
Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines in the area once controlled by the former Ottoman Empire, in Central Asia and in the lands in between. It and its variants are thus popular in Turkey, the Balkans, Cyprus, much of the Arab world, Iran, the Caucasus, Afghanistan and the lands of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. It is a pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.
History
The history of baklava is not well-documented; it has been claimed by many ethnic groups, but there is strong evidence that it is of Central Asian Turkic origin, with its current form being developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace.Perry 1994, 87
Vryonis (1971) identified the ancient Greek gastris, kopte, kopton, or koptoplakous, mentioned in the Deipnosophistae, as baklava, and calls it a "Byzantine favorite". However, Perry (1994) shows that though gastris contained a filling of nuts and honey, it did not include any dough; instead, it involved a honey and ground sesame mixture similar to modern pasteli or halva.
Perry then assembles evidence to show that layered breads were created by Turkic peoples in Central Asia, and argues that the "missing link" between the Central Asian folded or layered breads (which did not include nuts) and modern phyllo-based pastries like baklava is the Azerbaijani dish Bakı pakhlavası, which involves layers of dough and nuts. The traditional Uzbek puskal or yupka and Tatar yoka, sweet and salty savories (boreks) prepared with 10-12 layers of dough, are other early examples of layered dough style in Turkic regions."Lambraki, p. 248-249">Akın and Lambraki, Turkish and Greek Cuisine/Türk ve Yunan Mutfağı p. 248-249, ISBN 9754584842
The thin phyllo dough as used today was probably developed in the kitchens of the Topkapı Palace. Indeed, the sultan presented trays of baklava to the Janissaries every 15th of the month of Ramadan in a ceremo read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baklava
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