Salsa contest fires up riders at Sierra
By Kathryn Reed
TWIN BRIDGES — It was hot, hot, hot at Sierra-at-Tahoe and it wasn’t just because the sun was beating down.
The fourth annual Salsa Showdown was April 10 at the ski resort. Thirty contestants entered this year’s event that drew a throng of people to the West Bowl area for much of the day.
Trays of salsa in little plastic containers kept being put in front of the judges with tortilla chips. Some judges were waving at their mouths and taking gulps of water to contend with the heat coming from the spicy entries.
All the ingredients for a salsa contest -- salsa, chips, margarita, water, scorecards. Photos/Kathryn Reed
This year the salsas were broken into two categories — spicy traditional and fruits.
John Rice, general manager of the resort and one of the judges, raved about a watermelon cucumber salsa he had just tasted. He was impressed with many of the fruit salsas.
Leah Rademacher won the fruit salsa category.
“I found two recipes online and merged them,” Rademacher told the crowd after being named the 2011 salsa champ. The honor earned her a season pass at Sierra for 2011-12.
Judges said it was unanimous for Rademacher to be the victor.
Brothers Rudy and Roman Pulido won the spicy contest. They were making the salsa right until the entry deadline Sunday morning.
Although Craig Lebaron was disappointed his entries didn’t win, he was generous with sharing his salsas with those lounging in Adirondack chairs in short sleeves. Contestants were only supposed to enter once, so he put one of his salsas under buddy Shaun Keay’s name.
Lebaron’s spicy recipe is below. Although I have not made it, I did try it. It goes down almost mild, but then has a lingering kick that makes me want to add this to my recipe files.
“The key is to put salt in and blend, then taste,” Lebaron said. “Salt is what gets you compliments.”
But he cautions to start slow with the salt and add as necessary. The same goes for the garlic.
Lebaron uses organic tomatoes because they are smaller and don’t have the waxy film on them.
La Sierra Salsa
8 tomatoes
6 jalapenos
10 Serrano chilies
Half onion
3 tomatillos
2 cloves garlic
50 cilantro leaves
Salt, to taste
Sear first five ingredients on stove or barbecue until slightly black.
Put roasted vegetables in blender with garlic and cilantro. Taste. Add more salt if necessary.
This is enough to fill one Mason jar.
What a awesome day!!! Thanks Kathyrn for the great article..
Shaun
I received a message requesting the recipe that I used for the 2011 Salsa Showdown at Sierra at Tahoe. Below is the recipe for “Mango Madness”.
I prepared the salsa the afternoon before the competition. The last two seasons I have entered a salsa in the traditional category and this year I decided to submit a fruit salsa instead. I was extremely excited to win the fruit category!
Thank you for your interest in my recipe.
Leah Rademacher
Sierra at Tahoe passholder
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
* 1 mango – peeled, seeded and diced
* 1/2 cup cucumber – peeled, seeded and diced
* 1/3 cup red onion – diced
* 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
* 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
* 1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
* 1 fresh jalapeno – finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
* salt and pepper (as desired)
Directions
Dice all of the ingredients and mix in a medium bowl. Add the lime juice, and lemon juice. Cover, and allow to sit at least 30 minutes before serving. Add salt and pepper prior to serving.