Pistachio Baklava - Defferent Manner

There are many ways to make Baklava. One way is the one made by Maria on July 25th.  Another is our Greek Chef Patissier Stelios Parliarlos way with a distinctive change by me: type of butter used, quantity of syrup put at the end and cut.....
Personally I love the Lebanese type baklava as opposed to the Greek which is too syrupy. The Lebanese is white because it is baked at low temperature for a long time, dry, not so sweet and very crunchy, feeling the very thin filo pastry used.
Lately, Greece produces the very thin type filo called Beirut Filo.

Literal translation of words written in white Greek on the right of the package is Filo of Beirut, extra thin pastry for syrupy sweets.
The important difference between the Greek Baklava and the Lebanese is that in Greece it is made with walnuts in Lebanon with pistachios. Both Greece and Lebanon produce pistachios the Greek are thinner and elongated while the Lebanese is rounder and thicker. The island of Aegina in Greece is famous for the production of Pistachios.  This island is the closest to Athens.
My suggestion to you for this holiday is to make something different. Make this baklava which I am sure you will love if haven't had it before.
To make this baklava you will need:
Makes 35 to 40 pieces.
-  2 packs of filo pastry (14 filo sheets per pack, cut in half to give 28 sheets 30 x 40 cm per pack). You will need to put 28 sheets 30 x 40 cm below the filling, and 28 sheets 30 x 40 cm above. The filling goes inbetween.
-  500 gr shelled, not roasted, unsalted, pulverized pistachio nuts.
-  500 gr ewe's butter. Butter made from the milk of a female sheep.

-  A mold 30 x 40 cm x 5 cm.
Method:
-  Melt butter in the microwave or by dipping it in hot water. I dipped the jar while boiling spaghetti!
-  Prepare your 28 sheets for the bottom part.
-  Brush your mold with butter well all over sides and bottom.
-  Lay your first sheet, brush with butter.
-  Lay your second sheet and brush with butter.
-  Repeat the same procedure for every sheet you lay.
-  Pat the surface of the baklava to get rid any air pockets.
-  When you finished laying your 28 sheets, add the whole quantity of pulverized pistachio nuts and disperse to evenly cover the whole surface of the filo.

-  Drop three or four tablespoonfuls of butter over the pistachios.
-  Continue adding your top 28 sheets of filo one by one and brushing each layer.
-  When you have added all your filo sheets, pat the surface with your hand again to make sure to get rid any of the air pockets.
-  Refrigerate for an hour or two to facilitate the cutting of the baklava. Otherwise room temperature filo will stick to the knife while cutting.

Note: The baklava has to be cut before cooking otherwise it will be impossible to cut it afterwards.
-  Bake for 1½ - 2 hours at 130 - 140 degrees C. Beware the color should not darken similar to the Greek baklava.  It should remain as natural white as possible.
For the syrup:
-  200 ml water instead of 400 ml as his original recipe says.
-  325 gr castor sugar instead of 650 gr as his original recipe says.
-  80 gr. corn syrup.
-  Combine all above and boil for three minutes from the minute the water starts to boil.
Last Step:
-  Calculate your syrup to be ready from boiling the minute you take your baklava out of the oven. At this very moment you start pouring very slowly the hot syrup all over the hot baklava. The baklava should immediately absorb the syrup.

The reason I reduced the water and sugar quantities above is because as I said earlier I do not like the baklava to be very sweet and syrupy.

Too Sweet And Too Syrupy. That Is Why I Reduced Quantities

-  Let cool completely before eating.
Enjoy by cutting the already cut lines to take 1 or more pieces.
Stelio.