Arepas with Romesco Sauce
6 ears fresh corn, cut off the cob
½ small yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup milk
¾ cup medium stone ground cornmeal
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Sift together dry ingredients. Puree corn and onion in a food processor until combined, but still lumpy. Add milk and eggs and mix. Saute red pepper in butter and add to corn mixture. Add corn mixture to dry ingredients.
In a buttered skillet over medium heat cook batter into silver-dollar-sized arepas. Transfer to a warm plate and hold until ready to serve with Romesco sauce and optionally fried Marguez sausages and a saladita made from sliced green apples, flat leaf parsley and pickled onions dressed with red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
Romesco Sauce
2 large, thick slices of county bread, crusts removed and cut into ½"cubes
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 ½ red peppers, roasted and peeled
1/3 cup blanched almonds, toasted to golden
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tomato, cored, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
Soak bread with red wine vinegar for 10 minutes and transfer to a food processor. Add almonds, red pepper, garlic, tomato, salt and pepper and puree until smooth. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin stream, until mixture is the consistency of a thick creamy sauce. Add the warm water as needed to thin, as necessary. Serve at room temperature.
