Lentil Fest lists cook-off winners

The National Lentil Festival announced the winners of the 2012 Legendary Lentil Cook-Off held Saturday during the festival. First place was the French Cassoulet with Lentils, Bacon, Sausage and Chicken Confit by Lily Julow of Gainesville, Fla. She will receive a $1,000 cash award sponsored by the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council. Second place went to Washington Harvest Salad submitted by Michelle Keno of Fairfield who will receive $500. The third place award went to Italian Peasant-Kissed Lentil & Butternut Squash Chili submitted by Kelly Mapes of Fort Collins, Colo., who will receive $250.

The National Lentil Festival Cook Off is a national competition and this year’s competition had 127 recipes submitted for judging.

Those 127 recipes were reviewed by three preliminary judges who choose the top 50 to be prepared for the preliminary cook-off held on July 26th.

More than twenty judges of all different backgrounds from across the Palouse chose the top six recipes, which were taken to Reaney Park during the festival for the public tasting.

The first 400 tasters in the park judged the recipes.

The preliminary winners also included Let It Be Lentil Strawberry Shortcake submitted by Renata Stanko of Lebanon, Ore .; Curry Lentil Yam Hummus submitted by Sarah Peterson of Spokane; and Pretty Penny Tostadas submitted by Stacy Reed of Gresham, Ore., each of which will receive $50.

The “I Hate Lentils” contest winner was Lentil and Sausage Etouffee by Judy Armtstong of Prairieville, Calif., who will receive $100 cash. The very discriminating judge, Bill Weed, local radio personality who publicly voiced his opinion of lentils on the air, generously offered to taste any of the top 50 recipes that did not appear to have lentils in them.

“The spiciness of the Etouffee overshadowed the fact that you could see the lentils,” Weed said.

The 2012 National Lentil Festival Legendary Lentil Cook-off Recipe Booklet is now available at the Pullman Chamber of Commerce for $5, please add $1.50 for postage if you would like one mailed to you, or visit LentilFest.com to submit your order.