Saragli: Greek rolled baklava
Walnut-filled filo rolled around a rod, gathered into crisp ridges, baked with butter, and soaked in citrus-honey syrup.
Prep50 min
Cook45 min
Rest300 min
Oven175°C
Servings20
Adapted for the home kitchen from documented Greek recipe references
Ingredients
Written for a 23 × 33 cm dish
Units
Temperature
Servings
- 300 g walnuts, finely chopped rounded
- 6 g ground cinnamon rounded
- 2 g ground cloves rounded
- 400 g filo pastry, about 18 sheets rounded
- 220 g clarified butter rounded
- 350 g sugar rounded
- 300 ml water rounded
- 100 g honey rounded
- 1 lemon, peel and juice rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Simmer sugar, water, honey, lemon peel, and 15 ml juice for 5 minutes. Cool completely.
- Mix walnuts, cinnamon, and cloves. Heat the oven to 175°C and butter a 23 x 33 cm tin.
- Butter two stacked filo sheets and scatter a narrow band of filling along one long edge. Roll them around a thin wooden dowel or the handle of a wooden spoon, push both ends inward to gather the roll into tight pleats, and slide it off. Repeat with the rest of the filo for about nine rolls.
- Pack the gathered rolls snugly in the tin, cut each into two or three portions for twenty in all, and pour over the remaining butter. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until dark gold.
- Pour cold syrup over the hot rolls and rest uncovered for at least 5 hours.
Notes
- Roll loosely enough to gather without splitting, then compress firmly for pronounced ridges.
- The gathered form creates more exposed crisp edges than tray baklava.
- Keep the filo covered with a damp towel as you work; sheets left out go brittle within minutes.
Sources consulted
Good with
- Greek salad with sardines
- Koupépia: Cypriot stuffed vine leaves
- Spanakopita: spinach, feta, dill, and leek pie
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer