Middle Eastern recipe
Pistachio Baklava with Lemon-Rose Syrup
Paper-thin filo layers are brushed with butter around a finely chopped pistachio filling, baked until deeply golden, then soaked with a cooled lemon and rosewater syrup for crisp edges and a tender centre.
Türkiye and the wider Eastern Mediterranean; pistachio style
01
Ingredients
- 500 g
thawed filo pastry, kept covered
- 350 g
unsalted butter, melted and clarified
- 300 g
shelled pistachios, finely chopped
- 5 g
ground cinnamon
- 350 g
granulated sugar for syrup
- 300 ml
water for syrup
- 30 ml
lemon juice
- 15 ml
rosewater, or to taste
- 2 g
fine salt for the nut filling
02
Method
- 01
Make the lemon-rose syrup
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring just until the sugar dissolves; simmer until lightly syrupy. Stir in lemon juice and rosewater, then cool completely.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph - 02
Prepare the pistachio filling
Pulse pistachios with cinnamon and salt until finely chopped but still granular. Set aside a small spoonful for garnish.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph - 03
Layer the filo
Brush a baking dish with butter. Lay in filo sheets one at a time, brushing each lightly with butter; keep the unused sheets covered with a damp towel.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph - 04
Add the nut layers
After several pastry layers, scatter a thin even layer of pistachio filling. Continue layering and buttering, adding the remaining nuts in another thin layer and finishing with filo.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph - 05
Score the pastry
Brush the top generously with butter. Use a sharp knife to cut through the layers into diamonds or squares before baking, reaching close to the bottom.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph - 06
Bake until deeply golden
Bake at 180°C until the top is deeply golden and the lower filo layers feel crisp at the scored edge. Rotate the pan if your oven browns unevenly.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph - 07
Soak and cool completely
Pour the cooled syrup slowly over the hot pastry so it flows into the cuts. Leave uncovered until the syrup is absorbed and the pastry is completely cool; garnish with the reserved pistachios.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Sources and photo credit
This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.
Recipe references
- BBC Good Food Middle East — Pistachio, Almond, Lemon and Rose Baklava
- Food Network Kitchen — Pistachio Baklava
Fıstıklı Baklava.jpg — Photograph by Garrett Ziegler; CC BY-SA 4.0.
Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.
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