Baklava rolls

I jumped to the opportunity last week, to make some Baklava for a friend of mine. Baklava is one of my ultimate favourite things to eat - layers of flaky phyllo pastry, filled with cinnamon-spiced nuts and sweetened with honey.  Originally it should be made in a large dish and then cut into diamonds or triangles, but I like to make little rolls, seeing that it is easier to eat and I also add a bit of cream the the nuts to make a filling rather than just sprinkling the layers with chopped nuts.  Two key ingredients are pistachios and honey, but it is a bit of a challenge to find unsalted pistachios here, so I use a combination of other nuts.  I also add a few very fragrant spices when making the syrup.  I'm starting to wonder now whether one can still call it Baklava after all my additions, but I'm sure you will love the result!

1 x 500g packet phyllo pastry (try to find pastry that has never been frozen)

250g butter, melted

Filling:

400g nuts, finely chopped (pistachios, almonds, pecan nuts, macadamia nuts)

100g castor sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

75ml cream

Syrup:

2 1/2 cups of sugar

1/4 cup of honey

1 1/2 cup of water

 juice of half a lemon

a 2 cm chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

2 stick of cinnamon

half a vanilla pod

1 whole star anise

2 cloves

Combine all the filling ingredients.  Combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and heat slowly until the sugar is completely dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Use one sheet of pastry at a time and keep the remainder covered. Place the sheet of pastry in front of you, shorter side down.  Using a pastry brush, brush the lower half of the sheet with melted butter, then fold the unbuttered half onto the buttered half.  Now cut the pastry into three equal strips from top to bottom.  Place a tablespoon of filling onto each strip, 2cm from the bottom.  Fold the end of the pastry over the filling.  Then make two folds, +/- 1.5 cm wide, on each side of the strips, enclosing the filling at the end.  Now, roll up the length of the roll, pasting the end with a bit of melted butter.  Place the rolls into a greased baking tray, deep enough to later accommodate the syrup.  From one packet of pastry, one normally gets 16 sheets of pastry.  The filling will be enough to make 16 x 3 rolls.

To bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Brush each roll with melted butter and bake for 20 minutes, until golden.  Remove from the oven and spoon over half the syrup.  Wait 20 minutes, then turn over each roll and spoon over the remainder of the syrup.  Cool before serving.

Home-made pasta with fresh tomato and trout sauce

I recently received one of the best birthday gifts ever - a pasta machine!  I don't know why I never bought one for myself.  It is very satisfying to make your own pasta and the taste is far more superior to that of dried pasta.  I think with a little bit of elbow grease and a rolling pin or wine bottle, you'll be able to achieve similar results.



The basic recipe is as simple as 100g of flour plus 1 egg plus a bit of kneading .To feed 6 people, you'll need to use at least 400g  of flour plus 4 eggs. 

Keep kneading



Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre.  Add the egg, slightly beaten and mix together using your hands.  Flour each hand and begin to knead.  It will be easier to to this on the counter top. 



Knead until you have a silky elastic dough.  Cover in cling film and leave to rest for half an hour.



There you go - silky!



Divide the dough in half.  Cover one half with clingfilm while rolling out the other half.  Flatten the dough with your hands then run throught he machine ont he thickest setting a few times. 





Keep rolling through the settings, reducing the thiskness each time.  If it gets to long to work with, cut in half.  Dust the working surface and pasta sheet lightly with flour as you work. 

Cut into desired 1 cm strips for tagliatelle, using the pasta machine.  An extra pair of hands will be helpful here.  Hang to dry.



When ready to serve, cook the pasta in a pot of boiling, salted water for 3 - 4 minutes.  Drain in a colander.

Fresh tomato and trout sauce

300g salmon trout, sliced into 1 cm thick escalopes

250g baby rosa tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

zest and juice of one lime

50ml brandy

200ml cream

a handful of frech Italian parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil and butter and fry the trout and garlic for a few minutes, seasoning with the lime zest and juice and some salt and pepper.  Add the tomatoes and fry one minute more.  Add the brandy and allow to cook for a minute.  Lastly add the cream and simmer until slightly thickened.  In the meantime, cook the pasta.  Divide the pasta between serving plates, top with the sauce and spinkle with chopped pasley and a grinding of black pepper.  Serve straight away.