Baklava

Servings: 12

Preparation:
Place the sugar and 2 cups of water in a saucepan, boil for 10 minutes, add the lemon juice and bring to boil again for a short time. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Crush or grind the pistachio nuts. Sift the flour into a large bowl, add salt and and mix. Slowly pour the oil, make a hole in the middle and add the eggs and very slowly add the water. Knead into a medium stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and leave for about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into balls and roll each ball out very thin, sprinkling with starch until half a millimeter thick. Place half of the rolled out dough into a baking pan of 35-40 cm. diameter. Sprinkle pistachio nuts on the top sheet. Place the remaining sheets. Cut the layered pastry sheets into squares or diamonds. Heat the butter without burning it and pour over the pastry. Bake in a barely moderately heated oven for approximately 40-50 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside for 2-3 minutes and then pour the cold syrup over the pastry, cover and let it soak the syrup.

Nutritional Value (in approximately one serving):
Energy 425 cal, Protein 6.4 g, Fat 19.5 g, Carbohydrates 58.2 g, Calcium 27 mg, Iron 1.31 mg, Phosphorus 100 mg, Zinc 1 mg, Sodium 190 mg, Vitamin A 479 iu, Thiamine 0.10 mg, Riboflavin 0.03 mg, Niacin 0.45 mg, Vitamin C - mg, Cholesterol (when butter is used) 58 mg.

Notes: Baklava is one of the traditional desserts which is the best known and made in all regions of Anatolia. The type which is prepared with a very thick syrup and keeps for a long time is known as "Dry Baklava" (Kuru Baklava).

In Turkish we say "Afiyet olsun" or "Yarasin".