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Turkish Pistachio Baklava
In Gaziantep, a city in southern Türkiye that is considered the home of baklava, the syrup-soaked treat always is made with pistachios, but it comes in numerous forms. Of the many we tasted, the old-fashioned, fıstıkzade-style was our favorite; it puts the focus on the nuts more than the phyllo. We learned our version from Musrur Bakar at Ozikizner, a commercial baklava bakery. He used a blend of coarsely ground pistachios on the first layer and finely ground pistachios in the upper layers to create a cohesive structure. Our a daptation also borrows his use of a hot oven and brief cooking time, which keeps the baklava moist and helps preserve the color of the nuts. We do use whole butter, not clarified as is customary for baklava. We found the water and milk solids in whole butter helped compensate for the relatively dry phyllo we get in the U.S. (in Tükiye, the phyllo is made fresh). Flicking water onto the surface of the baklava just before baking also helped. Be sure to allow the baklava to cool completely before serving. Covered tightly, it keeps up to five days at room temperature.
Makes
28 pieces
Don’t use a nonstick cake pan. The baklava is cut into pieces before baking, directly in the pan, so it’s best to use a conventional (that is, not nonstick) pan because nonstick surfaces are easily scratched with metal implements. Also, make sure to pour the warm syrup onto the baklava as soon as it comes out of oven. This is important for even and thorough saturation of the many layers.
1¼ hours
50 minutes active, plus cooling
Ingredients
-
226
grams (16 tablespoons) salted butter, cut into a few chunks
-
360
grams (2½ cups) raw pistachios, divided
Directions
-
01In a small saucepan over medium-low, melt the butter. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm. In a food processor, pulse 216 grams (1½ cups) pistachios to create a mixture of finely and coarsely ground nuts, about 15 pulses. Transfer to a mesh strainer set over a medium bowl; shake to sift out the pistachio “dust.” Do not wash the food processor bowl and blade. Measure 1½ to 2 tablespoons of the dust into a small bowl or ramekin and set aside. If the pistachios in the strainer are still very large, transfer to a cutting board and use a chef’s knife to chop them into bits no larger than ¼ inch. Transfer the pistachios to the bowl into which the dust was sifted.