Yotam Ottolenghi

Yotam Ottolenghi proves that nothing tops sheets of pastry drizzled with fragrant syrup and scattered with luscious cheese. Here’s a classic dessert with a savoury spin from the star chef.

Sweet, golden baklava.

WALNUT, CINNAMON AND HALOUMI BAKLAVA

MAKES 9 LARGE OR 16 SMALL PIECES FILLING 30g unsalted butter, melted 11/ 2 cups (130g) walnut halves, roasted, finely chopped into 3mm pieces

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 4 tsp caster sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

PASTRY SHEETS

16 sheets filo pastry, roughly 23cm x 23cm (if they come in different sizes, just cut them accordingly)

70g unsalted butter, melted

140g coarsely grated haloumi

ROSE WATER SYRUP

3/4 cup (150g) caster sugar

2 tbs lemon juice

11/ 2 tbs rosewater

1 tsp edible dried rose petals, to serve

Heat oven to 240°C. For the filling, mix together all the ingredients and set aside.

For the pastry sheets, place one sheet of pastry in a 20cm x 20cm square baking pan, preferably one with low edges, arranging the pastry so the sides of the sheet rise up the sides of the pan. Brush with a little butter and continue in the same way with 7 more sheets of pastry, brushing each with butter, until you have layered 8 sheets of pastry. Scatter the grated haloumi on top of the pastry.

Sprinkle all of the walnut mixture over evenly. Place another layer of pastry on top, pressing down securely. Brush with more butter and continue with the remaining 7 layers of pastry in the same way. Brush the final layer with butter and use your fingers to gently tuck the pastry edges underneath the baklava so you get a neat edge (a bit like making a bed).

Using a small sharp knife, cut the baklava into 9 or 16 pieces, allowing the knife almost to reach the bottom, but not quite. Transfer to oven and bake for 18 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through baking until baklava is dark golden-brown and crisp on top.

Meanwhile, for the rose water syrup, heat sugar and 1/ 3 cup (80ml) water in a small saucepan on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, swirling every once in a while until the sugar has dissolved and started to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add lemon juice and rosewater, and simmer gently for 6-7 minutes until you have about 3/4 cup (180ml) slightly thickened syrup left. Remove from the heat and set aside.

As soon as the baklava has been removed from the oven, pour two-thirds of the syrup over it and sprinkle with rose petals, crushing them slightly as you go. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly, and then serve each slice warm, with an extra 1-2 tsp of syrup drizzled on top.