Salsa Competition Results

Thanks for all the good wishes!  Six Salsas were entered and three were mine.  I turned in my salsa entries at 10:30 and they were judged at 2.  They announced the winners at 4.  Ellie and I went back for the judging and a friend came along with her daughter.  Ellie and I waited until 4 but our friends had to leave early.  We saw a lot of friends there at the market and had some fresh raspberries, shaved ice, and took home a pint of Blackberry Whidbey Island Ice Cream.  It was AMAZING.  I highly recommend it.  Now onto the details...

My Canned Fresh Salsa took first place and my Roasted Salsa Verde took second! There was a one point difference between first and second place.  The prizes were a blue ribbon and a $50 gift card for first place and a red ribbon and a $25 gift card for second place.  I have the ribbons hanging on the bulletin board in my kitchen with last year's ribbons...  I hope there are some more entries next year.  I think it would make the whole competition fun to have more people enter.  But I will be back for next year. 

Winning Salsas from Last Year's Competition

I entered three salsas in last year's competitions.  I won first and second place with two of them and then a please do not ever make this again with the third - it was downright awful.  I won't post that recipe...  :)  Here are the two that swept the competition below. 

Blue Ribbon Cowboy Caviar

1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can (15.5 oz) black eyed peas, drained & rinsed

½ red onion chopped

½ medium sweet onion chopped

¼ cup green bell pepper chopped

2 fresh tomatoes chopped

1 finely diced jalapeno pepper with ribs and seeds mostly removed

1 chilaca pepper finely diced

1 fresh ear of corn blanched and cut off the cob

1 cup Italian Dressing (recipe to follow)

¾ cup chopped cilantro

Kosher Salt to taste

Mix everything in a large bowl.  Then season to taste with the Kosher Salt.  Refrigerate for two hours or overnight to all the flavors to marry.

Italian Dressing Recipe

1 tbsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp Italian Spice Mix

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp dried parsley

2 tbsp Kosher salt

Mix the ingredients together and store in a sealed container.  To make the dressing, pour ¼ cup your favorite flavor of vinegar, 2/3 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp water, and 1 ½ tablespoons of the dry mix together in a jar or bowl.  I use the Good Seasons cruet because the measurements are on the side.  J  The mix can be used on flat bread.  Combine the mix one to one with olive oil and brush on fresh flat bread dough.  Bake for suggested amount of time for your bread recipe.

Second Place Fire Roasted Tomato, Chilaca, & Chipotle Pepper Salsa

½ white onion chopped

1 tsp vinegar

1 can fire roasted tomatoes (such as Muir Glen Brand)

1 whole chilaca pepper

2 heaping tablespoons of Spicy Chipotle GarLic It! Garlic Finishing Sauce

Kosher Salt to taste

After chopping the white onion, place in 16 oz bowl with vinegar and cover with ice cold water.  Allow to soak for ten minutes, then drain without rinsing.  While the onion is soaking, roast a pasilla pepper until the skin is black and blistered.  You can do this on the stove top if you cook with natural gas.  Cover the pepper allow to steam while cooling so the skin is easy to remove.

Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a bowl with the GarLic It! and allow to sit until the other ingredients are ready.  Once the pepper is peeled, finely chop and add to the tomato mixture.  Add in the onions and refrigerate for at least one hour for the flavors to marry.

Three Salsas for the Salsa Competition

Last year I entered the salsa competition at the local farmer's market.  Since there was no limit to entries, I entered three.  I'm an over achiever like that.  :)  I won first and second place.

Winning first and second place fueled my fire to enter again this year.  I was all gung-ho to make different salsa recipes and try them out on my family and friends throughout the year.  Good intentions...  Sigh.  Anyway, I came up with three recipes this weekend.  Canned Fresh Salsa, Roasted Salsa Verde, and Triple Pepper Salsa were the pithy names that I settled on.  My family was no help at all so if you think they are silly, blame them.

Here are the recipes:

Canned Fresh Salsa

4 pint jars with rims and seals to fit

14 ripe tomatoes (I used tomatoes off the vine)
kosher salt
1.5 large onions
4 cloves of garlic
1/3 pound  Jalapeño Peppers

2 poblano peppers
1/2 cup minced cilantro
1 tablespoon  cumin
½  of a 6 ounce can tomato paste
PER JAR 3 tablespoons lime juice

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the tomatoes by dropping them in the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. You will need to do them in batches. Transfer the tomatoes to a sink or tub filled with cold water.

Peel the tomatoes, and chop them coarsely. Layer them in a large strainer - such as comes in a set for cooking spaghetti - with the salt. Much of it will run out with the water. Let the tomatoes drain for several hours to overnight, in a cool spot (but not in the fridge.) Don't forget to keep them a little raised from the bottom of whatever pot you strain them into, so they are not sitting in their own water.

When you are ready to proceed, put the canning jars into a large canner with water to cover them by one inch at least, and bring to a boil. Boil the jars for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and then chop the onions in a food processor, de-stem and deseed the Jalapeños (wear gloves – not kidding – the voice of experience here!) and poblano peppers, and peel and mince the garlic.

Take the strained tomatoes, and chop them to the texture you would like - a food processor is fine for this. Mix them with the chopped onions, garlic, and chilies in a large canning kettle or other large, deep pot. Chop the cilantro and mix it in, along with the cumin.

Mix the tomato paste with a cupful of the salsa, until it is lump-free. Mix it into the pot of salsa. Taste the salsa, and add some salt if you think it needs some more. Bring the salsa to a boil.

Lift the sterilized jars from the boiling water bath and empty them. Half should be emptied into the sink, and half should be emptied back into the pot to keep the boiling water level up.

Add three tablespoons of lime juice to each jar. Fill each jar with salsa, with a wide mouth funnel to within 1 cm of the rims. Wipe the rims with a clean paper towel dipped in the boiling water, and seal according the manufacturer’s directions.

Return the jars to the boiling water bath and boil them for 20 minutes, well covered in water.  Remove from the water bath, allow to cool, check seals and label the jars with the date and batch number.

Adapted from here.

Roasted Salsa Verde:

5 tomatillos husked and cut in ½

½ Walla Walla Sweet Onion

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch Kosher salt

1 Anaheim Pepper

1 jalapeño pepper

½ cup cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup water

Kosher salt to taste

Toss the tomatillos and onion in olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.  Place tomatillos, onion, Anaheim pepper and jalapeño pepper on a hot grill and roast.  Turn frequently so that all sides of the vegetables get roasted.  When the tomatillos and onions soften remove from the grill. 

Grill the peppers until the skins are blistered.  Steam the peppers in a covered bowl until the skins easily come off.  Peel off the skins and remove the seeds and ribs from the two peppers. 

After all the vegetables cool to room temperature, put them all in a blender with the cilantro, cumin powder, and garlic powder.  Pour the water in and blend until smooth.  Season the salsa with salt to your liking.

Chill and use as a salsa, topping for enchiladas or burritos, or on scrambled eggs.

Triple Pepper Salsa:

½ Anaheim pepper, seeds & ribs removed

½ Poblano pepper, seeds & ribs removed

1 Jalapeño pepper, seeds & ribs removed

½ White onion, diced

4 Tomatoes on the vine, vine removed and chopped

1 Clove of garlic, minced

¼ Cup cilantro chopped

½ Teaspoon cumin

Juice of one lime

Salt to Taste

Mix in a bowl, chill for at least two hours, and serve with tortilla chips.

So there you go.  I'll report back tomorrow and let you know how I did.  I'll post the winning recipes from last year, too.