Cultures from three continents flavored the winning recipes at a cooking competition at the latest Alabama National Fair in Montgomery.

“Celebrating Your Ancestral Roots” was the theme for the competition at the long-running fair, which every fall draws folks from across central Alabama. The fair is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Montgomery, with proceeds going to charity.

Judges for the cooking competition were provided by the fair and the Alabama Rural Electric Association, which publishes Alabama Living magazine.

Here are the recipes from the top three winners:

Jamie Davis won first place in the Alabama National Fair cooking competition with her Lake a Bass Tacos, drawn from her Creek Indian heritage. (contributed)

Lake a Bass Tacos

First Place 

Creek Indian heritage

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless Lake Martin bass fillets, cut in strips

Coating: 

• 1 cup White Lily buttermilk cornmeal mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup panko
• 14 warm flour tortillas, sprinkled with Tajin seasoning
• Peanut oil for frying fish

Topping:

• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 ripe avocados, thinly sliced
• 1 cup pico de gallo
• Fresh lime and cilantro for garnish
• 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Sauce:

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1½ tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Wash fish in cold water. Put cornmeal, salt and panko into gallon bag; drop fish into bag and shake well. Prepare the oil. Test it for proper temperature by dropping some meal into grease to see if it is ready. Oil should be 4 inches deep. Fish will float when done, usually in three minutes. While fish fries, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Reserve extra sauce. You can fry your tortillas or serve warmed. Sprinkle with Tajin seasoning.

To assemble tacos, place two pieces of fish in each tortilla. Top with a bit of shredded cabbage, pico, two slices of avocado, cheese and 1 tablespoon of sour cream sauce.  Serve warm with lime wedges.

Jamie Davis

Ronald Welch won second place in the Alabama National Fair cooking competition with his Salmon Wellington, drawn from his English heritage. (contributed)

Salmon Wellington

Second Place

English heritage

Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅔ cup cream cheese
• ¼ cup plain breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 sheet puff pastry

Instructions

First, make the spinach filling. Melt butter, then sauté onions until soft and translucent. Add spinach and cook just until it starts to wilt. Season with black pepper and add garlic, then add cream cheese. After cream cheese melts, add Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Mix everything together and remove from heat.

Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Roll out pastry. Cut into halves or a size to fit fillets with filling. Place each filet in center of pastry and allow two inches on each side of the salmon. If pastry sheet is not big enough, you can roll it out further. Top each filet with spinach mixture using a spoon. Brush the edges of the puff pastry with egg wash. Place the salmon on a greased pan or tray lined with parchment paper. Make cross hatches on the top of each Wellington using a sharp knife. Bake at 390 degrees for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Ronald Welch

Nicole Penn won third place in the Alabama National Fair cooking competition with a dish, Roosevelt Jr.’s Cameroonian Chops & Rice, drawn from her Cameroonian heritage. (contributed)

Roosevelt Jr.’s Cameroonian Chops & Rice

Third Place

Cameroonian heritage

Ingredients

• 2 1½-inch-thick loin pork chops
• ½ teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon celery seed powder
• ½ cup sliced bell pepper (red and green)
• ½ cup yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 15-ounce package prepared wild rice

 Gravy:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons flour
• Pan drippings

Instructions

Season chops with all-purpose seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sugar and celery seed powder. Set aside to marinate for at least two hours. Meanwhile, sauté bell peppers and onions in the first two tablespoons of butter until just cooked through. Set aside to cool. Cook wild rice according to package directions. Mix rice and sauteed veggies in a bowl. Cut slits into sides of pork chops with a sharp paring knife. Stuff pork chops with rice and veggie mixture. Cook in a pretreated air fryer set on 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until desired doneness.

For gravy, add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to a saucepan and add pork chop drippings. Stir in flour, removing any lumps.

Serve chops with gravy and any remaining rice mixture.

Nicole Penn

A version of this story originally appeared in Alabama Living magazine.