Blueberry-almond Baklava With Orange Blossom Honey Recipe

Directions:

1. FOR BLUEBERRY-ALMOND BAKLAVA: Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with butter.
3. In a medium bowl, combine warm water, almond extract, lemon zest, and dried blueberries. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain well.
4. In a food processor, pulse the almonds 3-4 times until coarsely ground.
5. In a large bowl, combine blueberries, almonds, sugar, and spices. Set aside.
6. Unroll the phyllo dough and cover with a damp kitchen towel, this will keep the dough soft and pliable.
7. Place one sheet of dough in bottom of a baking pan. Lightly brush with softened butter. Continue to layer and brush the dough repeating 8 times.
8. Sprinkle half of the fruit-nut mixture over dough evenly. Repeat 8 sheet processes again and top with remaining fruit-nut mixture. Top with remaining 8 sheets of dough and brush with softened butter.
9. With a very sharp knife, cut only halfway through the pastry in 4 equal sections, turn the pan and cut 4 more equal sections in the opposite direction making 16 squares. Cut an X in each square.
10. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove vanilla bean from syrup, and drizzle over warm pastry.
11. FOR ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY SYRUP: In a medium saucepan, combine honey, water, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla bean over med-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool uncovered.