National Dishes of the World

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Baklava
Photo: Sakaman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

dessert vegetarian for the recipe below

Baklava

Dozens of layers of paper-thin pastry with walnuts or pistachios, baked in butter and soaked in syrup.

Eaten in: Albania traditional, Bosnia & Herzegovina traditional, Bulgaria traditional, Cyprus traditional, Greece traditional, Kosovo traditional, North Macedonia traditional, Türkiye traditional shared by 8 countries

Prep
40 min
Cooking
50 min
Resting
4 h
Total
5 h 30 min
Servings
12

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About the dish

Baklava is made of many layers of paper-thin yufka or filo pastry brushed with clarified butter and filled with chopped walnuts or pistachios. Once baked until golden, it is drenched in sugar syrup that seeps into the layers, leaving the pastry both crisp and moist. It is cut into diamonds or squares and served in small pieces, often with coffee or tea. It is a must on holiday tables and when visiting family. Pastries of this kind are made across the former Ottoman lands – from the Balkans and Greece through the Levant to the Caucasus and Iran – with different nuts, spices and syrups, such as rose water or honey.

Main ingredients

  • filo or yufka pastry
  • butter
  • walnuts or pistachios
  • sugar
  • lemon juice

The “vegetarian” and “vegan” labels refer to the recipe shown, not to every version of the dish.

Albania: Called bakllava in Albanian; a traditional dessert for holidays and New Year's Eve.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: In Bosnia an essential part of the festive table, especially at Bajram.

Greece: Called μπακλαβάς (baklavas) in Greek, usually made with walnuts and a honey and cinnamon syrup.

Kosovo: In Kosovo, bakllava, a must at Bajram.

Türkiye: Gaziantep, famous for its pistachios, is regarded as the capital of baklava; in Turkey it is eaten especially at the holiday that ends Ramadan.

We show dishes associated with a country, not official national dishes; “national dish” and “culinary symbol” are used only with a basis. What do the labels mean?

More: Wikipedia (pl) Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Baklava

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/baklava

Ingredients

12 servings

12 servings

Allergens in the ingredients: gluten, milk, nuts and peanuts. Based on the ingredients of this recipe – no substitute for checking labels.

Method

  1. Boil the sugar with the water for 10 minutes, add the lemon juice and let the syrup cool completely.

  2. Melt the butter over low heat, skim off the foam and pour the clear fat off the sediment. Finely chop the nuts and mix with a spoonful of sugar.

  3. Butter a tin of about 30 × 22 cm. Layer half the filo sheets one on top of another, brushing each with butter.

  4. Scatter the nuts evenly, then layer the remaining sheets on top, brushing each with butter as well. Brush the top generously.

  5. With a sharp knife cut the pastry into diamonds, cutting right through to the bottom of the tin.

  6. Bake at 170°C for 45–50 minutes, until deep golden.

  7. Pour the cold syrup over the hot baklava, sprinkle with pistachios and leave for at least 4 hours to soak it up.

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