http://www.iliasthegreek.com.au/
One need only glance through my food log of Greece to see just how much I love baklava. It's one of my absolute most favourite desserts of all time, and I have tasted a LOT of desserts. There is definitely a difference between great and poorly made baklava and I'm always happy to taste test. Recently, the lovely folks at Ilias the Greek posted me a sample of some of their top products to try.
I raced to my local post office yesterday morning to pick up the goodie pack, which included 2 slices of baklava, a portion of halva and a bar of nougat. By today, I can say (with a certain degree of embarrassment) that I've tasted everything!
Baklava
We tried the baklava yesterday on a road trip out west. Although we had tonnes of other snacks ranging from chocolate bars to soy chips and crackers with dip, the baklava was what I was looking forward to the most. I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint.
Close-up of baklava layers
The baklava from Ilias the Greek is flaky with layer upon layer of syrupy filo. There is an abundance of crushed nuts throughout and more on top that included my favourite: pistachios. Every bite was moreish and delicious.
Nougat
I ate the nougat last night as a bit of a night cap. I've never been a huge fan of nougat because it sort of hurts my teeth to chew but if it's in front of me I'll eat it. From what I know, there are crunchy types and chewy types and this one was chewy and soft. There was a lot of content packed into the little bar, including chunks of almond, pistachio and cranberry. I liked the flavour but by the end it got a tad too sweet for me.
Tahini halva cake
I was curious about the halva because I'd never tried anything like it before. I've tasted halva by name in the semolina form but that was completely different. This is tahini halva and as the ingredients suggest, it has a distinct and strong sesame taste.
Bite shot of halva
It reminded me of a Chinese sesame cookie my parents used to get but the texture is softer and more giving like a dense cake rather than a biscuit. It has a nice melt-in-the-mouth quality but is quite rich so you couldn't eat too much in one sitting.
A big thanks to Ilias the Greek for these tasty treats. It was great to sample their awesome version of baklava and also fun to try some things I hadn't tasted before. They will be at a stall at the Good Food and Wine Show in Brisbane this weekend (17-19th of October 2015) but if you aren't heading to the show, check out the website for stockists.
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