FEBRUARY 2020 75
TO MARK THE SHIFT CHANGE between meal services at Benne on Eagle in Asheville,
North Carolina, chef de cuisine Ashleigh Shanti leads her team in a focused but relaxed
round of ingredient prep. Sometimes they pick crabmeat. Other times, they snap green
beans. But often, usually, they strip collards. “We all do it together,” she says of the time
they carve out to mentally reset for the evening ahead. It’s part of Shanti’s apprecia-
tion for tedious but crucial labor: “It reminds me of my aunt [and] my grandmother,
just doing that one thing together.” With collards, it’s not just how you stew, sauté, or
season them that matters. The essence of the dish comes forth in its making.
At Benne, the year-old restaurant celebrated for its deferential yet creative approach
to telling a Black Appalachian food story, collard greens play sideman—but never second
fiddle. They appear in Shanti’s collard green and shaved fennel salad, a raw applica-
tion that Shanti says goes overlooked too regularly. They are traditionally stewed and
served in their potlikker. Shanti often dries the leaves like “hanging britches” on a
clothesline, taking a cue from her grandmother, who gave garlic and dragon beans the
same treatment. She rehydrates them with buttermilk, cooks them down, and calls the
side Buttermilk Britches in homage. Other uses of the brittle iteration get ground to a
powder as part of the restaurant’s house seasoning blend with benne seed, mushroom
powder, kitchen pepper, Maldon salt, and brown sugar.
African American culture has historically been obscured from how this region is pre-
sented, but its influence has been tangible for centuries. On the dining room wall, four
prominent portraits of African American women hold court. They are Hanan Shabazz,
Mary Jo Johnson, Earlene McQueen, and Mary Frances Hutchinson, all restaurateurs
from decades past who fed the historic Black neighborhood The Block, where Benne
on Eagle makes its home today. “Collards have shown up on all their menus at some
point,” Shanti says of the women whose faces she can see from the open kitchen.
“Collards are a dish that everyone in the community loved and can still relate to.”
—Osayi Endolyn is a James Beard Award–winning writer living in Gainesville, Florida.
COLLARD AND FENNEL SALAD
WITH CRISPY PLANTAINS
ACTIVE 25 MIN; TOTAL 35 MIN; SERVES 6
Twice-fried plantains make irresistibly
crunchy croutons in this salad of raw col-
lards and crispy fennel and apple.(^3) / (^4) cup grapeseed oil, divided
1 medium-size unripe green plantain,
cut crosswise into^1 / 4 -inch-thick
slices
1 1 / 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
(^1) / 3 cup sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp. ground sumac
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. molasses
(^1) / 4 tsp. black pepper
1 large bunch collard greens, stemmed
and thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and
thinly sliced, fronds reserved and
chopped to equal 1 Tbsp., for serving
2 medium Pink Lady apples, unpeeled
and thinly sliced
2 medium shallots, halved lengthwise
and thinly sliced
- Heat^1 / 2 cup oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skil-
let over medium. Working in batches, fry
plantain slices until light golden, 1 minute
and 30 seconds to 2 minutes per side.
Transfer plantain slices to a cutting board;
smash to^1 / 8 -inch thickness using bottom of
a measuring cup. - Working in batches, return smashed
plantain slices to hot oil; fry over medium
until golden brown and crisp, 30 seconds
to 1 minute per side. Transfer plantain
slices to a baking sheet lined with paper
towels. - Sprinkle fried plantain slices evenly with
(^1) / 2 teaspoon salt. Let cool 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together vinegar,
sumac, mustard, molasses, pepper,
remaining^1 / 4 cup oil, and remaining 1 tea-
spoon salt in a large bowl. Add greens;
massage mixture together with your hands
until collards are wilted and tender, 1 to 2
minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. - Add sliced fennel bulb, apples, and shal-
lots to collard mixture; toss to coat. Add
plantains; fold once to incorporate. Trans-
fer to a serving platter; sprinkle with
reserved chopped fennel fronds.
MAKE AHEAD Dressing can be made up to 2
days in advance. Plantain chips can be
made up to 4 hours in advance.
NOTE Fried plantains may be substituted
with 1 cup store-bought plantain chips
(a b o u t 1^1 / 2 ounces). Follow recipe as
directed, omitting steps 1 through 3.
THE GENEROSITY OF
GREENS
COLLARDS
wo rd s b y
OSAYI ENDOLYNrecipe by
ASHLEIGH SHANTI