Last week we discussed end of summer tomato hoarding.  This week let’s address the great Corn glut of 2017.  My farmshare has sent me a lot of corn and there seems to be no end in sight.  Temperatures are in the 80’s in New York right now, so it’s really still summer here.  I have already made two batches of corn pudding, which is an excellent way to use up a backlog of corn that is not absolutely fresh.  Now that I’ve gotten through all of that, I am poised to eat this coming week’s batch of corn, boiled briefly in salted water and served with Romesco sauce.  I tried this last summer while visiting my mother on Gabriola Island (The lovely natural setting and beautiful dishes in the photo above are my mom’s) and it was delicious.   My mother and I have a disagreement about how long to boil corn for.  She is firm in her belief that corn should be boiled for 8 minutes.  I like to boil my corn for 4 minutes.  Either way, this sauce is an excellent accompaniment, especially if your farmshare is, like mine, sending you red peppers these days.  I think this recipe makes enough sauce to serve with 6-8 ears of corn.  However, if you end up with leftover sauce you can use it for meat, potatoes, eggs, cauliflower, eggplant… really anything.

CORN ON THE COB WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

• Fresh corn on the cob boiled unit it is just sweet and tender
• 2 large roasted red bell peppers (directions for roasting peppers can be found here)
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1/4 cup (1 oz) slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup ( 1 or 2 oz) hazelnuts, toasted
• 1 small ripe tomato
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like)
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine everything in a blender and process it until it has a consistency that you like.  I like mine with a bit of texture.  To me, Romesco sauce tastes best at room temperature.

MORE CORN AND RED PEPPERS…