Savory Romesco Baklava with Hot Honey

Savory baklava, you ask? YES, we answer! Anna Calabrese dreamed up this truly delicious recipe with layers of Romesco and sausage, and a drizzle of hot honey to top it off. If you’re expecting a crowd, get the party started with this recipe and perhaps a crisp, well-chilled Retsina wine from Greece. Try using fresh red peppers from Harvest Valley Farms and sausage from Jubilee Hilltop Ranch. harvestvalleyfarms.com; jubileehilltopranch.

Ingredients

For the Romesco:

1 16-oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained (or a 6-8 freshly grilled, peeled red peppers)
½ cup raw or roasted almonds
½ cup canned fire-roasted tomatoes
¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and drained
2 medium-to-large cloves garlic
1 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp fine sea salt, to taste
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the phyllo dough:

1 box frozen phyllo dough
1 cup chopped almonds
½ lb crumbled Italian sausage, cooked and drained
¾ lb butter, melted
½ cup hot honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Mix Romanesco in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
Unroll phyllo dough. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Spread ½ cup Romesco mixture and ½ cup chopped almonds. Sprinkle with half of the cooked sausage. Top with 5 sheets of dough, layering with butter as you go. Add ½ more of Romesco mixture, ½ cup almonds, and the rest of the sausage. Then the top layer should be about 6-8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife, cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately drizzle with hot honey. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Story by Keith Recker / Photography by Dave Bryce / Recipes and Styling by Anna Calabrese

With the support of Buy Fresh, Buy Local of Western Pennsylvania and PA Preferred