Is it possible to make something delicious from a can of food? Last week FN Dish editors challenged you to a pantry cook-off to find out what dish you would make out of ordinary canned foods. It was a challenge inspired by Episode 4 of The Next Iron Chef, where the chefs had to transform a chosen canned food into something worth plating for the judges. In the end, most of the chefs were successful in the challenge, even those who chose cans labeled with question marks. But what can the average person at home create with canned foods? You voted for the ingredient you would choose to cook with and then told us the dish you would make.

The winner of The Next Iron Chef Pantry Cook-Off Challenge is Melissa Long, who would make whole-wheat pakoras filled with canned salmon and Indian spices. Congratulations Melissa for a recipe idea that transforms a canned ingredient into a dish worthy of Kitchen Stadium. FN Dish editors thought your proposed dish had ingenuity, radically transformed the canned ingredient and would ultimately be very flavorful.