Fruits of our Labors: August: Salsa Cook-Off!

It was a heated battle, but we crowned a salsa champion! Camille Manning schooled us all with her chunky, spicy, delicious mix.

And here is her winning salsa recipe:

Mix the following in the quantities that you like best:

Fresh tomatoes, chopped

Canned corn

Black beans

Chopped cilantro

Chopped green onions

Minced garlic

Minced jalepeno

Salt and pepper to taste

The other recipes were all great too, so give them a try!

Mango Salsa

3 C chopped tomatoes

1 C chopped red onion

1 C chopped yellow pepper

1 1/2 C chopped, peeled mango

1 seeded jalapeno, minced

6 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 lime

2 tsp minced fresh cilantro

Mix all ingredients and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Tara’s Mango Salsa

2 red peppers, diced

2 avocados, sliced into cubes

2 mangoes, cubed

1/2 red onion, diced

1 Tbs lime juice

2 Tbs cilantro

1 Tbs oil

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

1 lb. tomatillos, husked and rinsed

4 serrano chiles, stemmed

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

2 tbsp. minced white onion

2 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Position an oven rack 4" from broiler; heat to high. Place tomatillos, chiles, and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil, turning often, until blackened in spots and cooked through, about 10 minutes for the garlic and chiles, and 15 minutes for the tomatillos; remove each ingredient as it finishes cooking.

2. Place roasted chiles, garlic, and salt in a food processor and puree until smooth; add tomatillos, cilantro, onion, and lime juice. Pulse until roughly chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in oil.

Chipotle Salsa

1 7-oz. can chipotle chilies

1-2 Tbs tomato paste

1 dried pasilla peper

juice of 1/2 lime

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Saute garlic and onion until fragrant. Puree in food processor with remaining ingredients, plus salt and pepper to taste. If it’s two spicy for you, serve it over a block of cream cheese to cut the heat a little.

Fresh Pineapple Salsa

2 C diced fresh pineapple

1/2 C chopped cilantro

1/4 C finely chopped red onion

1 serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded, finely chopped

juice and zest of 1 lime

1/8 tsp sea salt.

Dessert!

Our generous host, Allison Bird, provided not only chips, but Sopapilla Cheesecake! Thanks for everything, Allison!

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup sliced almonds, optional

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.

Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

It was a really great night to be gluten-free.