Rhubarb Baklava Pie

The picture is titled, "Sorry, we couldn't wait."

This pie came about after catering a luncheon comprised of Greek Spanakopita and Salad.  Leftover phyllo dough is always a joy; it lends itself to a million ideas.  One can wrap just about any thing in it, savory or sweet, and have a lovely pastry without the hassle of mixing and rolling out a batch of dough.

Another thing I love about working with phyllo is it's forgiveness.  It is recommended that the phyllo is kept under a damp towel while being worked so that it doesn't dry out.  Many times, however, I have encountered less than cooperative phyllo straight from the package.

And then, still having leftover phyllo 2 days later,  I made a Peach-Plum-Almond Baklava pie.  It's still too hot to eat, but it looks wunderbar.

Ingredients:

Filling and crust:
1/2 lb (more or less) Phyllo dough
1/2 lb melted butter
4 cups rhubarb, sliced
1/2 cup sugar

Nut filling:
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp. Rosewater

:Butter a 10" pie plate, lay 2 leaves of phyllo over with ends overlapping the rim.  The ends will be rolled up at the end of the layering.  Brush the phyllo with butter, including the ends.  Lay another 2 sheets down and butter again.  Repeat 2 more times.

Chop nuts together with the sugar and cinnamon in a food processor until the nuts are the size of BBs.

Toss the rhubarb and sugar together and fill the pie plate.  Top with 2 sheets of phyllo, butter, sprinkle with half the sugar nut mixture and repeat again with 2 sheets of phyllo and the rest of the nut mixture.  Now layer on more phyllo, buttering each time.  Do this for 1 or 2 more layers,  depending on how much leftover dough you have.  Like I said, it's forgiving.  Roll up the ends and brush, brush, brush with more melted butter.  I usually roll them up so that they are covering the top of the pie and not on the rim.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until the crust is brown and crisp and the rhubarb is done.  Remove from the oven.  Mix the water, sugar, and honey together in a small pan, bring to a boil, and cook until sugar and honey are dissolved.  Remove from the heat; add the rosewater.

Prick the top of the pie a few times with a fork and pour the syrup all over.  Let cool and serve warm or room temperature with unsweetened whipped cream.


   Search Amazon.com for phyllo