Bloomingfoods and the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department cohosted the 24th annual Salsa Contest during the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market on August 25.
The Salsa Contest staff says it “always takes place at the end of August when tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers are at the height of their glory. We encourage contestants to focus on local ingredients when they can, including heirloom tomatoes, garlic, and hot or sweet peppers. Many specialty salsas make use of local peaches, berries, or other fruit.”
The teams of judges were made up of local foodies, one of which was Bloom‘s very own food editor Christine Barbour. The salsas were judged in three categories—cooked, raw, and specialty.
We recently posted the winners of the Cooked Salsa category. Check back September 5 for recipes from the winners of the Specialty Salsa category!
Contest Winners 2012: Raw Salsa
Judging team for raw salsa: Annie Corrigan, Joe Estivill, Lynn Schwartzberg
1st Place: Adam Dick
20 Roma tomatoes
2 yellow onions
8 serrano peppers
2 limes, peeled
2 avocados
4 tablespoons cilantro
4 tablespoons garlic
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
Dice and combine in food processor.
Judges’ comments: Perfect in every way. Avocado works!
2nd Place: Patricia Wells
“Funky Salsa”
6 Roma tomatoes, sliced
4 tomatillos diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients together.
Judges’ comments: Love the zing. Good onion taste. Big and chunky and tasty.
3rd Place: Bryan Will
2 red heirloom tomatoes
2 yellow heirloom tomatoes
1 red volunteer tomato
15 cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, variety)
3 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons Italian parsley
4 tablespoons basil
1 tablespoon oregano
Juice of 3 limes
3 bell peppers
3 Hungarian wax peppers
2 jalepeños
2 Thai dragon peppers
1 tablespoon cumin
Splash of apple cider vinegar
Salt and Ponape/Pohnpei pepper to taste
Medium chop everything in food processor and serve.
Judges’ comments: Good heat. Herbation. Spicy and herby.
I made Adam Dick’s 1st place salsa, for our neighborhood 4th of July party just yesterday. I substituted the roma tomatoes for our fresh garden tomatoes. We held a salsa contest and out of 7 entries, I won!!! Thanks for posting!