- 9 medium carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
- 2 tsp sea salt flakes
- 125g/4½oz peeled pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ orange, juice and zest
- ½ lemon, juice and zest
- 3 tbsp ground almonds
- 3 star anise
- 150g/5oz clear honey
- 250g/9oz caster sugar
- 150g/5oz unsalted butter, melted
- 500g/1lb 2oz ready-made filo pastry
- Gather the grated carrot into a clean tea towel, sprinkle with the salt and set aside for at least an hour, or ideally overnight, so that the salt can absorb the moisture from the carrots.
- Squeeze the carrots in the tea towel to remove any excess moisture, then transfer the carrot to a bowl and stir in the pistachios, ground cinnamon, orange and lemon zest and ground almonds until well combined. Set aside.
- Heat the star anise, honey and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is just coming up to the boil.
- Add the lemon and orange juices, and 200ml/7fl oz water, stir well, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
- Strain the cooled syrup through a fine sieve into a bowl, then cover and chill in the fridge until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
- Grease the inside of the baking tin with a little of the melted butter. Working quickly, brush each sheet of filo pastry all over with melted butter. Arrange one-third of the filo sheets in layers at the bottom of the baking tin.
- Spread half of the carrot mixture in an even layer on top of the filo pastry. Arrange half of the remaining buttered filo sheets on top of the carrot mixture.
- Repeat the process with the remaining carrot mixture and top with the remaining sheets of buttered filo pastry. Trim the edges of the pastry block using a sharp knife.
- Cut the baklava into equally sized diamond shapes, about 5cm/2in across, then transfer the baking tin to the oven and bake the baklava for 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp, puffed up and golden-brown.
- Remove the baklava from the oven and pour over half of the chilled syrup. Set aside for 5 minutes to soak, then pour over the remaining syrup. Set aside to cool slightly, then serve.