Crispy and Nutty Baklava

Till long I believed that this delicate sweet dish belongs to the Lebanese and I thought wow what an invention, but lately I happened to talk to many friends and to my surprise it has a Turkish back ground.. Here is what I found while surfing in the Net for some more info :

The history of Baklava is as diverse as the number of ways it is prepared and the number of countries that claim its origins. Is it generally accepted that Baklava came to us from the Assyrians at around 8th century B.C. Layering nuts with a simple unleavened flat bread and drenched with honey. As only the wealthy of the time can afford this simple luxury, baklava was held as a special dessert for those in high positions of society such as monarchs and kings. In Turkey, to this day, one can hear a common expression: "I am not rich enough to eat Baklava every day".

Anyway who ever made it it’s DIVINE and a must try for all : )

1 pack of phyllo pastry (400x300)
2 cups of crushed nuts
Walnuts/almonds/pistachio
½ cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Juice of ½ lemon
250 grm melted butter

-First of all make thick syrup of honey /sugar/water and lemon juice
-cook till you can smell honey over all in the kitchen
Now start with the pastry:
-Take a wooden cutting board to work on it
- lay one sheet of the pastry brush with butter
-lay another over it brush butter again
-now sprinkle with nuts all over
-cover with a sheet, brush butter
-another sheet and again brush butter
-take a wooden spoon with a long tail
-place it on the sheet and roll it tightly into a roll
-now gently pull the roll off the spoon so that it gets some crinkles
-place the first roll into the greased casserole
-you need a casserole of size 10”x8” brush the bottom of the casserole with butter
-Repeat the same process till your casserole is full with rolls
-now cut small pieces with a sharp knife gently
-bake in a preheated oven on160° for around 20 minutes or till u see they have turned golden brown
-take them out, cover tight with a foil and push it back in the oven again for another 10 minutes
-now take it out uncover and pour the syrup with a deep spoon on each line of roll
Slowly and evenly. You will notice that there is too much syrup but its okay coz the pieces have to absorb the syrup to become crunchy and yummy :)
-after pouring all the syrup let the casserole rest for at least 2 hour so all pieces absorb the syrup and then all sets down and the top dries up into a crunch!
Sprinkle some left over nuts all over, it’s ready to serve! Divine out- and- out!!!!
Enjoy!!!