Recipes

Baklava and KOO Poached Pears

This Middle Eastern dessert features a delightful combination of baklava and red wine KOO poached pears. The satisfying crunch of the baklava perfectly complements the rich, tender pears, creating a harmonious blend of textures and flavours.

Ingredients

Yield: 4 portions

For the filling:

450g Mixed nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, and pistachios), finely chopped
100g Granulated sugar
15 ml Ground cinnamon
2,5 ml Ground cloves
2,5 ml Ground nutmeg
2,5 ml Salt
115 g Butter, melted

For the syrup:

240 ml Water
200 g Granulated sugar
120 ml Honey
15 ml Trulem lemon juice
1 Cinnamon stick
4 Whole cloves
1 Strip of lemon zest (optional)

For the pastry:

450g Phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
115 g Butter, melted

For the poached pears:

1600 g KOO pear halves (in syrup or juice)
240 ml Red wine
100 g Granulated sugar
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Whole cloves
5 ml Vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Method

Prepare the filling: In a large mixing bowl, combine the finely chopped nuts, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well until evenly combined.
Prepare the syrup: In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, honey, Trulem lemon juice, cinnamon stick, cloves, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Once cooled, strain the syrup to remove the cinnamon stick, cloves, and lemon zest. Set aside.
Assemble the baklava: Preheat your oven to 175°C. Brush a 22x30 cm baking dish with melted butter.
Unroll the phyllo dough and cover it with a damp kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.
Place one sheet of phyllo dough in the prepared baking dish and brush it with melted butter. Repeat with several more sheets of phyllo, brushing each layer with butter, until you have about 8-10 layers.
Spread about 1 cup of the nut filling evenly over the layered phyllo dough.
Continue layering the phyllo sheets on top of the nut filling, brushing each layer with melted butter as before. Repeat this process of layering phyllo and nut filling until all the nut filling is used, finishing with a final layer of phyllo on top.
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the baklava into diamond or square-shaped pieces.
Bake the baklava: Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the baklava is golden brown and crisp. While the baklava bakes, prepare the pears.
For the poached pears: Drain the canned pear halves and set them aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the pear’s syrup, red wine, sugar, and any optional flavourings such as the cinnamon stick, cloves, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is simmering, carefully add the drained pear halves to the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and let the pears simmer gently in the syrup for about 10-15 minutes, or until they are heated through and have absorbed some of the syrup. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the pears cool in the syrup for a few minutes.
Finish with syrup: Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately pour the cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava, allowing it to soak into the layers. Let the baklava cool completely in the pan before serving.
Assemble: Once cooled, carefully lift the pieces of baklava out of the pan and transfer them to a serving platter.
To plate: serve each plate with KOO poached pears with a slice of the baklava and whipped cream, ice cream or custard. Garnish with edible flowers.