Sesame Baklava

Yannis is always telling me that I have no patience. When I take a notion to paint a room, I do it right then and there. When I make a cake, it's in the oven in no time flat. When I see anyone preparing recipes from Smyrna, I admit to falling short of any patience at all. I really admire Yannis' grandmother's strength and patience in cooking her beloved recipes from Smyrna for 10 people, 3 times a day, every day! She not only prepared time-consuming main dishes and desserts but she also had to deal with Yannis' shenanigans. So, I guess I would have to agree with Yannis and confess I have no patience compared to the women from his childhood; but I am developing this virtue as I watch him painstakingly prepare sesame baklava. I am also patiently waiting to eat one of the yummiest sweets ever!

Sesame Baklava

!6 sheets of phyllo
2/3 cup sesame oil for brushing on phyllo
2/3 cup sesame oil to pour over the baklava

  

filling:

1 3/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 teas. cinnamon
   syrup
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick

If your face does this while you are trying to catch
a sniff of sesame, they probably aren't done yet.

Spread the sesame seeds on a baking pan and bake in 325 F./160C. oven until lightly gold and they start to smell good, about 10 minutes.  Pound one cup of the sesames in a small bowl until you smell the sesame aroma. 
Mix the ingredients for the filling., using the ground and whole sesame seeds.. In a 9x12 baking pan, place 3 phyllo sheets, brushing two of them with sesame oil;put 1/6 of the filling over the third sheet of phyllo; continue placing 2 sheets of phyllo five times, putting the filling between every 3 sheets. Finish with 3 sheets of phyllo on the top and trim the overhanging sheets to the size of the pan. Preheat the oven to 50F./180C and mark the baklava with a sharp knife into diamonds Heat the 2/3 cup of sesame oil and pour over the baklava. Bake the baklava for 1 hour. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes. Pour the hot syrup over the cooled baklava or the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Let the syrup settle into the baklava for at least two hours before serving, if you have the patience!