Brian (left) and Ashley Neff slap a high-five after learning they had won this year's Davidson Farmer's Market Salsa Showdown last Saturday. (Courtney Spear photo)

A recipe for “Kaleidoscope Salsa” that combined tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, corn, lime and cilantro earned top honors last Saturday for Ashley and Brian Neff of Davidson in the Davidson Farmer’s Market’s annual Salsa Showdown.

Four teams competed for top honors again this year, and they were required to use ingredients purchased at the market. The dish winning clearly takes its name from the multi-colored ingredients that went into it.  The Neffs said their ingredients cost a total of $24.

The victory earned the couple tokens for $50 worth of purchases from vendors at the farmer’s market.

The Neffs' winning Kaleidoscope Salsa. (Courtney Spear photo)

The showdown was designed to put the spotlight on the vendors and produce available at the market, and to demonstrate that you can find 90 percent of your salsa ingredients right at the market. (Contestants were allowed to bring up to three non-market ingredients, such as olive oil, sugar, lemons, limes, and cilantro, according to market manager Courtney Spear.

Like so many other aspects of the market, the showdown also was designed to bring the community together at a fun event, Ms. Spear said. “Contests create interest, excitement and conversation. It’s another great way to strengthen our community and market,” she said.

It turns out the Neffs’ victory was a slim one. They won by just a single vote over Jacob Teske of Huntersville, who was assisted by Kate Asis. It should be noted that Mr. Teske ran out of salsa with 15 minutes of voting time left. Folks really must’ve liked that one.

Other contestants were Jenny Brule´, a Davidson-based food writer; and Chris and Linda Kutlick of Charlotte.

Davidson Farmer’s Market runs every Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, next to Davidson Town Hall.

Here’s the winning recipe:

Kaleidoscope Salsa

Brian and Ashley Neff

From the market

6–7 medium to large colorful tomatoes (we used red and a lovely striped orange)
4 – 5 small bell peppers of varying colors (we used red, green, purple, orange and yellow)
1 sweet banana pepper
1/2 small sweet white onion
1/2 medium red onion
6 ears white corn
1 or 2 jalapenos

From home

1 1/3 cups cooked black beans (if using canned, rinse)
2/3 c fresh cilantro
2 – 3 limes
salt and pepper.

Cook beans, if using dried (rinse if you are using canned). Dice and mix tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Strip corn from cobs and add (do not cook) with beans. Juice limes, dice jalapeno, and chop cilantro, then add lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro and salt and pepper, all to taste. Mix well.

Notes: Makes a bit over three quarts. Clearly, this is made to be in summer, when local tomatoes and sweet corn are in season. Also, these quantities are entirely estimates. We just kept adding things until the proportions felt right!

Thanks to Courtney Spear for collecting the recipe and supplying photos.

Brian and Ashley Neff (Courtney Spear photo)