Baklava for Beginners

Anyone, regardless of their Greek cooking experience, can make these perfectly

every time! No unwieldy sheets of filo dough to manage, just a few flavor packed ingredients and all ready in less than 30 minutes with this infinitely scalable recipe – win, win, win, win (you get the idea!)

Baklava for Beginners [Vegan]

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 1 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon tahini (mix well before measuring)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

For the Syrup:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the Shells:

• 2 boxes of mini filo shells

Preparation

1. Toast walnuts over very low heat (careful not to burn!) and finely chop. Try chopping walnuts by hand as sometimes a food processor gives you more of a walnut meal. Set aside.
2. Gently warm tahni, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon over VERY LOW heat. You want to just WARM the tahini and not cook it! Stir gently until mixture becomes a thick paste.
3. Add sugar/tahini paste to chopped walnuts and incorporate completely. Mix in lemon zest.
4. Fill filo shells with nut mixture and arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven.
5. While filled filo cups are baking, make your syrup.  Combine sugar, agave nectar, water and lemon juice. Cook on low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove filled filo cups from the oven and immediately spoon hot syrup over warm walnut cups, approx 1-2 teaspoons per shell.
7. You can eat these immediately but it's best to allow baklava cups to sit for at least an hour and preferably 4-5 hours.  And you can easily make these ahead and keep, covered, for up to a day before enjoying.
8. To make up to five days ahead, go through step three of the recipe above and keep walnut mixture covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.  I'd recommend leaving the walnut mixture on the kitchen counter for 15-20 minutes before baking.

Notes

Feel free to use filo sheets here if you prefer – quickly triple this recipe (and syrup) and you’ve got enough filling for a 9×13′ pan of baklava.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/baklava-for-beginners/