• Pistachio and green-tea baklava

    Serves: 8
    Cooking Time: 1 hr + 3 hrs, to cool

    Ingredients

    • 1 x 1kg roll filo pastry, defrosted in the fridge
    • 500g pecan nuts, chopped
    • 500g pistachios, chopped
    • 5ml (1 tsp) cinnamon
    • 180g butter, melted
    • 250ml (1 cup) green tea (made with 4 green tea bags)
    • 500ml (2 cups) honey
    • 250g sugar
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) vanilla extract
    • TO GARNISH
    • almond slivers, toasted
    • strawberries, quartered
    • raspberries
    • fresh mint leaves
    • icing sugar, to dust

    Instructions

    1

    Remove the defrosted pastry from the fridge 1 hour before using. When working with filo, only remove the sheets you immediately need, keeping the other sheets covered with a damp tea towel.

    2

    Preheat the oven to 160°C. Toss together the chopped pecans, pistachios and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

    3

    Thoroughly butter a rectangular 30cm x 30cm x 6cm baking tin with the melted butter. Make sure the sheets of filo will fit in the pan. (If they’re a little bigger, that’s okay; if they’re much bigger, simply trim them with a sharp knife.)

    4

    Butter the top sheet of filo with melted butter, then grab it and the unbuttered sheet below it. Flip the sheets over and set them in the baking tin, buttered-side down. Press them lightly into the pan. Repeat this twice more, so that you have 6 sheets of filo in the tin with 3 of the sheets buttered. Sprinkle over enough pecans and pistachios to make a single layer. Butter 2 sheets of filo and place them on top of the pecans and pistachios, buttered-sides down. Add more pecans and pistachios, then 2 more buttered filo sheets. Repeat this a couple more times until you’re out of pecans and pistachios. Pour over the green-tea concentrate and top with 4 more buttered filo sheets, buttered-sides down. Butter the top of the final sheet.

    5

    Cut a diagonal diamond pattern in the baklava using a very sharp knife. Bake in the oven until very golden brown, about 45 minutes.

    6

    While the baklava is baking, combine the honey, sugar and vanilla with 125ml (½ cup) water and any remaining melted butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, 15 minutes.

    7

    Remove the baklava from the oven and drizzle half of the honey mixture evenly all over the top. Allow to absorb, 1 minute, then drizzle on a little more until you think it’s thoroughly moistened. Allow the baklava to cool, uncovered, about 3 hours. Once cool and sticky and divine, carefully remove from the pan. Serve sprinkled with toasted almond slivers and garnished with strawberries and raspberries, fresh mint and a dusting of icing sugar.

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