VEGAN BAKLAVA CIGARS

Baklava is one of these things that I did not use to like until I came of age. When my gran brought it back from one of her travels to Turkey when I was young, I pronounced it ‘too sweet’ (can you believe it?) while shoving a handful of nasty, perfumed, artificially-coloured, heart-shaped sweets into my face. Classy, eh?

When I moved to London, I got to taste this Middle-Eastern treat again and fell in love with it immediately. I was lucky enough to live near one of the most famous baklava destinations and going out for a piece of baklava and an espresso had become a weekend ritual for me and my then boyfriend.

It’s really quite easy to make so please don’t be intimidated. Plus, even though these vegan baklava cigars obviously aren’t a health food, they are way healthier than traditional baklava (yet just as indulgent). I used a small amount of mild olive oil instead of melted butter and maple syrup instead of sugar and honey. Learning from my previous attempts, I brushed every pastry sheet with only a small amount of oil to get a crispy and grease-free end result and I’m pleased to say that all four of my taste testers made loads of approving noises during consumption so I’m confident you’ll love them too.

INGREDIENTS

SYRUP

• ¾ cup / 180 ml freshly squeezed orange juice (from 2 oranges)
• ¼ cup / 60 ml maple syrup
• ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped

BAKLAVA CIGARS

• 1 cup / approx. 130 g almonds
• 1 cup / approx. 100 g walnuts
• zest of 1 lemon
• zest of 2 oranges
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ cup + 1 tbsp / 75 ml maple syrup
• 3 vegan filo pastry sheets (mine were 35 x 46 cm / 14 x 18 “), thawed*
• 2 tbsp mild olive oil
• 1 tbsp shelled pistachios, very finely chopped

METHOD

SYRUP

• Put strained orange juice, maple syrup and vanilla bean (if using) into a small pot and gently bring to the boil. Simmer on a very low heat until you get a thin syrup that coats the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool.

BAKLAVA CIGARS

• Grind nuts for the filling in a food processor until you get a coarse crumb. You can use any nuts you like, I went for a mixture of almonds and walnuts.
• Place ground nuts in a bowl with salt, cinnamon, lemon and orange zest. Mix all the dry ingredients well and add maple syrup to bind.
• Prepare a baking tin by brushing it with a small amount of olive oil. Wet two clean kitchen towels and wring them both out really well.
• If you want your cigars to look identical, it’s a good idea to weigh all the filling and then divide it into 6 equal portions.
• ...............

full recipe : www.lazycatkitchen.com

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