I learned my lesson the hard way today. I made Baklava with pistachios. 300g to be precise. Did I do what any normal person would do and buy them pre-shelled? No I bought them shelled and spent the best part of half an hour shelling them, ultimately ending up with two sore thumbs. But boy was it worth it, the sugary sweet goodness of the Baklava had my arteries hardening with just a look.
I only had one slice as I don't think my teeth could have taken much more. The crispiness of the filo pastry and the crunchiness of the pistachios, mixed with the spices were a perfect compliment to each other. The the sauce, oh the sauce, a veritable gooey sweet lovers dream. Chewy and soft, and oh so sticky.
The recipe came from the Baked & Delicious Magazines, Issue 5, Page 16.
Baklava
Serves: 12
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Cooling Time: 2 hours
Oven Temp: 180C/350F/Gas 4
Ingredients
300g (11oz) shelled walnuts, pistachios, almonds or other nuts of your choice
1 rounded tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch of powdered cardamom, optional
1 x 450g (1lb) pack filo pastry
125 - 150g (4 - 5oz) unsalted butter, melted
cloves to decorate, optional
For The Syrup
250ml (9fl oz) water
250g (9oz) sugar
125ml (4fl oz) runny honey
1 stick cinnamon
zest of one orange
1 - 2 tsp orange flower water, optional
Equipment
24 x 20.5cm (9.5 x 8in) ovenproof dish
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Chop the nuts or crush them briefly in a processor - you want them to retain a good crunchy texture. Mix in the spices. Butter the baking dish.
Open the filo and keep the sheets under a tea towel to prevent them drying out. Lay the first sheet into the dish, butter it, then cover it with another layer. Continue for five or six layers. Now lay half the nuts on top. Add another five or six layers, buttering as before. Lay the remaining nuts on top, then finish with more layers of buttered pastry. Trim around the dish, then cut deeply through all the layers to form a diamond pattern. Secure each diamond with a clove if you like them. Bake for about 40 minutes, turning the oven down to 170C/325F/Gas 3 if it's getting too brown on top.
Meanwhile put the syrup ingredients into a pan and melt to combine, then simmer the mixture for 15 minutes until it thickens, becomes sticky and is reduced in volume by one third. Set aside to cool. When the baklava comes out of the oven, pour over half the syrup; after 5 minutes pour over the remainder. Leave to cool and settle for at least 2 hours before serving.
Honey & Lemon Chicken Breasts
I couldn't think of anything more I'd rather eat on a horrible, stuffy, muggy day like today other than a nice juicy chicken breast, that takes mere minutes to cook. A light and zingy marinade of honey, lemon and mustard keeps the chicken beautifully moist throughout cooking. This was enjoyed by the whole family, apart from my 3 year old Mackenzie, who didn't want to eat the brown dots lol. It was no mean feat, to scrape off all the mustard seeds from his piece of chicken which had already been cut up. Serve up with chunky chips and mixed vegetables.
The recipe came from Best Food Fast! Book, Issue 1, Tasty Chicken, Page 43
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts, skinless
1 lemon
2 tbsps clear honey
1 tbsp grain mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a roasting tin with a large piece of overhanging foil. Place the chicken breasts in the tin. Cut 4 thin slices from the lemon and place one on top of each chicken breast.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon and mix with the honey, mustard, oil and seasoning, then drizzle over the chicken. Seal the foil.
Bake for 15 minutes, fold back the foil and baste. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes more.
Enjoy x
No comments:
Post a Comment