In honor of our 20^th anniversary, we asked Civan Er, chef at the award-wining Changa restaurant, to create for us a dish inspired by Istanbul. He came up with this heavenly dessert, which is a fun take on traditional baklava, bursting with traditional Turkish flavors, yet totally modern. 

Ingredients:

16 pieces thin phyllo dough cut into 5 x 20 cm pieces

50 grams haloumi cheese

1 tablespoon butter        

For frying:

1 liter sunflower-seed oil

50 grams butter

For the syrup:

350 ml water

200 grams sugar

A couple of drops of lemon juice

For the Custard:

50 grams pistachio nuts, skins removed

100 ml milk

30 grams granulated sugar

1 egg yolk

For garnish:

1 pomegranate     

Preparation:

1. To make the custard, mix the pistachios and milk in a food processor and refrigerate mixture for 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, place the haloumi into a bowl of water and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow the water to soak up the salt. Remove from water and grate cheese. Set aside.

3. Strain the pistachio and milk mixture using a cheese cloth or fine colander. Then add the sugar and the egg yolk, and heat this mixture in a saucepan over low heat until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and cool the mixture in a bowl filled with ice water. 

4. For the syrup, heat the water and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat. When the sugar has melted, increase the heat a little and add a couple of drops of lemon juices when it reaches a syrupy consistency. 

5. Remove from heat, and cool the syrup to room temperature.

6. Cut the pomegranate in half. Rap the back with a spoon while holding it over a bowl in order to extract the seeds. Set aside. 

7. Layer two pieces of phyllo dough. Place one tablespoon of grated haloumi cheese on one end, then fold carefully into a triangle. Use melted butter to seal the edges. Repeat this stage with the remaining pieces of phyllo dough. 

8. Heat the sunflower-seed oil in a frying pan, and fry the baklavas until they turn a light golden brown. Just before you remove them from the pan, add 50 grams of butter to the oil for flavor. Remove the baklavas with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. 

9. Next, place the baklavas into the syrup mixture and let them soak for 1 minute. 

10. Meanwhile, distribute the pistachio custard onto your serving plates. 

11. Remove the baklavas from the syrup and serve on the bed of pistachio custard, two per plate. 

12. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve warm.