Blame It On The Baklava

Gone two weeks in Greece and I gained 5 pounds, even though I ate fish for dinner 99 percent of the time. Blame it on the baklava, one of my favorite desserts. More than 40 years have passed since I first tasted baklava at a fund-raiser for my children's nursery school. I've been making it since then (but not too often since it's highly caloric) using a recipe given to me by the woman who made it for the school. For years now, I've been thinking about posting that recipe, but never got around to it. However, since returning from Greece last week, and having just made it to serve to my Italian chit-chat group yesterday, the time was right to post here.

First let me say I ate my fair share of baklava while in Greece, (as the scale revealed) some quite good and one just so-so. Let me also state that the baklava I make (recipe below) is every bit as good as any that I ate in Greece, and dare I say, even better? Yes, I know, you may think I'm exaggerating, but truly, I've served it to Greek friends and to someone who has traveled to Greece a number of times, and they agree with me. I know it seems strange, since the recipe is from the now-extinct McCall's magazine, but I think I know why this recipe is so darn good: 1. The syrup is infused with oranges and lemons, while most recipes use only lemons, and 2. It uses both walnuts and almonds, while most recipes call for only one type of nut. That combo makes this recipe irresistibly delicious.

Meanwhile, while in Greece, my first baklava was from a bakery on the island of Naxos. I couldn't wait to dig in and started eating it in the car. It was really good, and especially crispy on top. I should have waited to eat it with a fork rather than gobble it down using my fingers.

The second one had pistachios, which I do love, but it turns out, not so much in baklava. If Paul Hollywood (of "The Great British Bakeoff" fame) were judging, he'd say "It's a bit stodgy." The addition of ice cream was a nice touch though.

This one from a bakery in Athens was good but lacked much flavor.

And this one eaten at a restaurant in Athens was probably the best I ate while in Greece. Again, extra points for ice cream on the side.

But my homemade baklava still beats out any of the above. It's not even hard to make, provided you buy store-bought phyllo pastry (who makes phyllo from scratch anyway?)

The most important thing is to keep the unused phyllo sheets covered while working with the recipe, buttering every other sheet (I told you it had lots of calories).

Sprinkle the nut mixture in several layers.

When you've used up all the phyllo, slice through the top layer only, making diamond shapes, and if desired, poke a whole clove into each section. Bake.

Drizzle the honey/syrup mixture over the top while it's still hot, then let it cool before serving. As you can see, it makes a lot. I hope you have a crowd coming, but if not, it freezes pretty well too, although it won't be as crispy as when you first make it.

And if baklava isn't enough to entice you to visit Greece, here are a few photos that might put a bug in your ear:

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From McCalls's Magazine 

BAKLAVA

FOR THE SYRUP:
3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups honey
1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
4 lemon slices
4 orange slices
FOR THE BAKLAVA:
1 pkg (1 lb size) prepared phyllo-pastry leaves, 15 by 12 inches, about 32 leaves*
2 cups finely chopped or ground walnuts
1 cup finely chopped or ground blanched almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sweet butter, melted

TO MAKE THE SYRUP:
In medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar; add honey, cinnamon stick and lemon and orange slices. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Strain; cool. Should measure 2 1/2 cups.

TO MAKE THE BAKLAVA:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove pastry leaves from package. In small bowl, mix walnuts, almonds, sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Place 2 pastry leaves in a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan; brush top leaf with some of melted butter. Continue stacking leaves, 14 in all, and buttering every other leaf. (Keep rest covered with damp towels to prevent drying.)

Sprinkle with third of nut mixture. Add 6 more leaves, brushing every other one with butter. Sprinkle with third of nut mixture.

Layer 6 more leaves, brushing every other one with butter. Sprinkle with the last third of nut mixture.

Stack remaining pastry leaves on top, brushing every other one with remaining melted butter and buttering top pastry leaf. Trim edges, if necessary.

With sharp knife, cut through top layer on long side; make 8 diagonal cuts at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Then, starting at one corner, make 9 cuts, on diagonal at 1 1/2-inch intervals, to form diamonds. (Cut through top layer only; do not cut through layers.)

Bake 60 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Turn off heat. Leave in oven 60 minutes; remove.

Pour cooled syrup over hot baklava. Following diamond pattern, cut all the way through baklava. Cool in pan - to absorb syrup - on wire rack.

*If phyllo is frozen, thaw in refrigerator.

Makes 35 pieces
From: Recipelink.com
Source: Magazine: McCall's Cooking School, Number 8, 1980, 1981

Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

More eggplants? Well, vegetable gardens are prolific this time of year. My eggplants this year have been producing more quickly than rabbits in heat, and it's hard to keep up with them all. The eggplant "fries" from my last post have been a big hit, but man does not live by eggplant fries alone. Stuffed eggplants hit the right notes for my husband, with a filling of Italian sausage, rice, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. It's like eating eggplant parm but with the extra benefit of more protein. If you're vegetarian and want to eliminate the sausage, it will still be delicious. 

I started with these "fairy tale" eggplants, which I've never grown until this year. They're tiny, even when mature, reaching only three or four inches in length. They tend to morph from white to yellow when they ripen, with a purple striation that turns beige when cooked. But you can use those longer, glossy, all-purple eggplants too. I trimmed most of the green from the top (see the one that isn't trimmed below as well as the ones that are trimmed) but left a little nub at the top to keep the eggplants from opening up too much.

Make a crosshatch in each one, being careful not to break the skin. Smear with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Then flip them over and bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

They'll come out of the oven looking like this. 

Scoop out the insides, being careful not to break the outer shell, if possible.

Chop the interior into small pieces.

I saved some of the interior for later use to make eggplant "meatballs." Cut up a mozzarella, and use half in the stuffing, then save half to spread on top.

Mix all the filling ingredients together.

Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of a pan, then place the stuffed eggplants on top. Spread the remaining mozzarella and a little more tomato sauce over everything.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, but remove the foil for the last 15 minutes. Sit down and enjoy these beauties.

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Sausage and Rice Stuffed Eggplants

8 small "Fairy tale" eggplants, or three large eggplants

3 cups cooked rice (brown or white)

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 lb. Italian sausage (raw)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated 

salt, pepper

minced parsley

marinara sauce

Trim the stems of the eggplants but leave a little "nub" at the top to help keep it together when it bakes in the oven. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, then make crosshatch marks on each half, being careful not to cut through the skin. Rub with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place skin side up on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the eggplants from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle, scoop out the interior with a spoon. Using a sharp knife, chop the cooked eggplant into small pieces.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the rice, parmesan cheese, raw sausage, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley and about 1/2 of the mozzarella, keeping the other half aside to use on top.

Add the chopped eggplant to the bowl, along with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Mix everything well, then stuff into the eggplants.

Line a casserole (or two as I did if using the fairy tale eggplants) with some marinara sauce. Place the eggplants in the casserole and then top each eggplant with more of the mozzarella and more of the marinara sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 for 45 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the dish is piping hot. Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes.