Ariston Café Baklava
The Ariston Café in Litchfield, Illinois, has served Route 66 travelers since 1935. This baklava recipe celebrates founder Pete Adam's Greek heritage with layers of flaky phyllo, nuts, and honey.
Ingredients
Method
- In a large bowl, combine chopped walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush a 9×13-inch baking dish with some of the melted butter.
- Lay a sheet of phyllo dough in the dish, trimming to fit if necessary, and brush it with melted butter. Repeat with 7 more sheets, brushing each with butter, for a total of 8 layers.
- Sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoons of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo. Add another 4 layers of phyllo, brushing each with butter.
- Continue layering nuts and phyllo until all the nuts are used, ending with a final layer of 8 sheets of phyllo, each brushed with butter.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the assembled baklava into diamond or square shapes.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until the baklava is golden and crisp.
- Prepare the Syrup: While the baklava is baking, combine the granulated sugar, water, honey, vanilla extract, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool slightly. Once the baklava is baked, remove it from the oven and immediately pour the slightly cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava.
- Let the baklava sit for at least 4 hours (or overnight) before serving, to allow the syrup to soak in and the flavors to meld. Recipe excerpted from Route 66 Recipes: A Culinary Cruise Along the Mother Road , reprinted with permission from Arcadia Publishing.
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