Kitchen Conundrum

Baklava Recipe, For A Sweet New Year

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I remember making this as a kid with my mother. It’s always been one of my favorite sweets.  For some reason, I was under the illusion that it was extremely difficult to make, remembering how long it took to place and butter each layer just so, keeping the dough covered with a damp towel because it would dry out and become unusable. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is actually incredibly easy to make! And, I have yet to dry out my dough even if I leave it uncovered while I work for a few extra minutes. Sometimes, I think my towel is too damp and actually makes the dough stick together and that rips and breaks it. But even then, with broken dough, the layers are forgiving and once it’s made, you never know if any layers are broken or if any had actually been pieced together.

I like using a mixture of pistachios and walnuts, but I feel that walnuts alone make it more traditional and walnuts are a bit more economical.  You can use either or both. It’s totally up to you and your preference.

I made this for Rosh Hashanah this year, and it was so well received that I made it again for a bake sale and for my father in law when he came to visit us for the first days of Sukkot.  On Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat sweet foods made with honey in hopes of a sweet year ahead.  Considering how much Baklava I have made this month, we should have a very sweet year ahead! (And one that should be spent more in the gym!)

I hope you will have a sweet year ahead too. Make this, and you are off to a great start!

Ingredients

Filling:

5 cups walnuts, chopped

½ cup Superfine Sugar

1 tbs ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp ground cloves

1lb package Phyllo sheets, #5 (I prefer to use Kontos brand, but Apollo or other brands are ok as well)

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

Syrup:

2 cups, plus 2 tbs granulated sugar

1½ cup water

½ cup honey

¼ lemon, peel only

3 whole cloves

1 tbs Orange Blossom Water (available in Mediterranean Grocers)

 

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, melt butter or margarine in the microwave and set aside.

Set up your prep area by having your bowl of melted butter with a pastry brush to your side, a 9x13x2” pan in front of you and your sheets of phyllo dough covered with a damp towel on the other side of you.

Place one phyllo sheet into the bottom of the pan and brush with butter. Repeat until you have 6 layers. Depending on the size of the phyllo sheet, you may have to overlap the pan and fold back into the pan making a second layer with one sheet. Brush each layer with butter!

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture onto the phyllo sheets. Cover with a phyllo sheet and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 4 layers.

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture onto the phyllo sheets. Cover with a phyllo sheet and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 4 layers.

Sprinkle  the last 1/3 of the nut mixture onto the phyllo sheets. Cover with a phyllo sheet and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 6 layers. Brush the top with butter.

Being careful not to cut all the way through, slice the pastry into 2”squares, (3 rows by 5 rows) then you can cut each square into triangles or just the center row.  Try to leave the bottom layers intact so the syrup will soak up more efficiently. Also be careful if you are using an aluminum pan to not poke holes as you are slicing, or your syrup will spill out the bottom. You really don’t want to clean up hot, sticky syrup! It makes a big mess! (Trust me when I say this!)

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top layer of phyllo is golden brown.

While the pastry is baking, make the syrup.

Combine all the syrup ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly.  Remove the cloves and lemon peel with a spoon. Keep the syrup hot over low heat.

As soon as you remove the pastry from the oven, pour the syrup immediately over the baklava.

Allow to cool at room temperature uncovered. Once completely cooled, you may cover with plastic wrap or foil or if you can’t help it, scoop out a piece and enjoy!

 

Homemade Baklava on FoodistaHomemade Baklava

Indian Inspired Okra and Spicy Zucchini

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We love Okra! But sometimes it is very difficult to find fresh. It’s not a “typical” northern vegetable. Down South, it was extremely easy to locate as it is almost considered a staple in many homes. We have stuffed them, fried them and dipped them into delicious sauces, but prepared this way they make a nice topping for rice in an Indian inspired menu.  We actually found these at a very large Indian grocer in Queens, NY called Patel Brothers. What a great store! They have an amazing spice collection and many types of flours and Indian sauces. You can even buy hard to find items online.  We were on the hunt for garam masala when we spotted some large okras and we bought some.

Another vegetable side dish with an Indian flare,  that’s also delicious over a Jasmine or Basmati rice, is Spiced Zucchini. While the Okra recipe  has more of a mild spice, if you like it hot, then try the Zucchini recipe. Feel free to interchange the vegetables to each dish as you like and for a slightly(!!!) more mild Zucchini, leave out the red chile flakes.


Miso Glazed Cod Recipe- An adventure in Miso hunting

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Sarah, from Old Mill Wine & Spirits, sent me a recipe for Miso Glazed Sea Bass. I had been dying to try it but I ended up taking some liberties and made a new version. This happened mostly because I could not find any fresh Sea Bass at any store near my home. I gave up after three stores. I then changed some of the measurements too to suit the Cod, which was the readily available fish of the day.

I have to admit, I have never cooked with Miso before. I really had no idea what it even looked like or how it was packaged. I actually did not research it before I went shopping or I would have had a better idea as to what exactly I was looking for. To be honest, I have never actually made any Japanese cuisine at home. Although, I have eaten plenty of take out and in lots of  Japanese restaurants around the world.  I love sushi. It just never really occurred to me to make any on my own.  It was delicious and I will have to make a more since I have so much Miso left over. I need to investigate additional recipes that call for Miso too. Feel free to share if you have a favorite!

I went to my local grocer. Not only did they not have any Sea Bass, they did not carry Miso. Except in packages of instant soup. Strike out.

I went to two more stores before settling on a huge Asian grocer on Long Island, V&T Supermarket. It was my first time there and I spent hours wandering up and down the aisles. What an incredible store. And a world away, right near my home. They have literally hundreds of sauces, and every different kind of noodle you can imagine, from rice noodles, wheat noodles, egg noodles and even noodles made from shrimp. They have extremely interesting finds like dried cuttlefish and other dried fish made to taste like fruit candy. They had beautiful, albeit strange looking, fruits and vegetables.  These were all very exotic to me and my, apparently, very Western cooking habits. I dared to experiment!

More importantly, they had Miso.  After wandering for a few hours not seeing it, I passed another customer who had been wandering in the opposite direction as I was through the same aisles. I asked if in their wanderings did they happened upon Miso. They very nicely explained that it would be in the refrigerator section in a tub, much like margarine and pointed me to it. I am very grateful he told me this as I never would have found it on my own. And no one who worked there spoke much English.  Or at least they didn’t when I asked.

They had many Miso varieties. I chose the Awase Miso. Which means “Mixed Miso”. It is a blend of two different misos from two different areas of Japan. Each Miso varies by region and each has a distinct flavor and texture and aroma. Yellow miso is sweet and creamy, while red miso is stronger and saltier. The Awase is a perfect combination of salt and not overly pungent.

They also had fresh fish. And they also carried live fish that you could choose from, but the tanks did not look all that cared for and were very overcrowded so I opted for the laid out fish.  But yet again, no Sea Bass. So I settled on Cod instead. This recipe would be good for any thick fish fillet. I also served it with steamed sugar snap peas and udon noodles.

 

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup sake

1/2 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

1/2 cup yellow miso paste

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp soy sauce

4 6-oz Cod fillets

2 tbsp green onions, finely sliced

Method

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a shallow glass baking dish.

Lay fish in the marinade and turn gently to coat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.

Preheat broiler. Remove fish from marinade. Place fish on rimmed baking sheet.

With broiler door slightly ajar, broil the fish about 6 inches from heat source until just opaque in center, about 7 minutes.

Transfer to plates. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Enjoy!  Or in Japenese どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)  which means ‘enjoy your meal’ – said by the cook/chef. Per Omniglot.

Note: Look for Miso in Asian grocery stores or the refrigerator section of your local health food store. It may also be found in the same case where you find packaged Tofu in some larger supermarkets. I have yet to find it in my Stop & Shop though.