At the Counter with Ashleigh Shanti
In the midst of Asheville’s robust food scene, acclaimed Chef Ashleigh Shanti’s offerings stand out from the crowd.
The James Beard Award finalist and Top Chef contestant opened Good Hot Fish in early 2024, a laid back eatery with a fresh take on Southern fish camps of old. Featuring a seasonally-driven menu and a generous pinch of nostalgia, a visit to Good Hot Fish is like floating downriver on a shimmery Carolina summer day.
Cozy up to the counter with us and find out more about Ashleigh’s upcoming new cookbook, Our South, where she dives deep into Southern food and the food memories that shaped how she cooks today.
Jasmin Pittman: What was it like opening your own restaurant? Was there anything that surprised you about the process?
Ashleigh Shanti: Opening Good Hot Fish was a challenging but learning process. In it, I found my voice as a businessperson which was incredibly refreshing. I wouldn't have said this in the midst of it, but now that opening is behind me, I'd like to go at it again with a new sense of knowledge and empowerment.
JP: What's your favorite part about the Asheville food scene? What do you think Asheville brings to the table that other cities don't?
AS: Asheville's food scene is a unique one and continues to become more diverse. I love that we're beginning to see our community support a lot of the new, young businesses that have come onto the scene. Not only that, there are nods to Southern Appalachian foodways on more menus throughout the city expressing the importance of preserving that very special aspect of food history in our region.
JP: What are some of the challenges of the Asheville food scene?
AS: Asheville is a city complete with food institutions, and just like a new business in any city that presents a welcome challenge to stand out amongst the rest of them. As one of the few black-owned establishments in town, we faced racism in our initial weeks of opening and other businesses have their own stories of discrimination within the community. While we position ourselves as some of the most progressive in the South, we still have a lot of work to do in terms of acceptance and equality.
JP: How did you come up with the concept for Our South? What was your inspiration?
AS: The concept of Our South surrounds the idea that all Southern food is not the same. The microregions that make up this part of the world are distinctly different and special all with their own foodways, techniques and styles. This idea, subconsciously, informed a lot of the way that I cook today.
JP: How did your memories of growing up in the South influence the cookbook's overall narrative and recipe curation?
AS: Our South is made up of the food memories I've collected while finding place throughout the Southern regions that made me who I am as a chef.
JP: What's your all-time favorite East Fork form and what's your favorite thing to serve on/in it?
AS: As new homeowners, my wife and I have settled on Morel, Panna Cotta and Lambs' Ear as our EF palette. My favorite East Fork form is The Coupe, it's the perfect size and shape for holding all those homey, saucy, braised dishes I lean into when I cook at home.
U-Haul Shrimp Cocktail with Prawn Crackers
Feeds 6 to 8
Before my wife, Meaghan, and I were married, we spent some time dating long-distance.
One afternoon when she was visiting me during this era of our relationship, she was craving shrimp cocktail and I whipped up this ceviche-like version. Shortly after that, she uprooted herself from her home in Texas and moved in with me, so I give this dish a bit of credit for our lingering summer romance turned marriage.
Fittingly, its name is a tribute to “U-Haul- ing,” self-deprecating slang for the phenomenon of lesbians falling in love and moving in together at lightning speed. It’s a stereotype, but Meaghan and I said our first hellos one hot summer night at a dive bar in Texas and found ourselves cohabitating in just under a year. Now this dish is what I always think of when I hear “shrimp cocktail.” Meaghan’s family serves this alongside the traditional saladitas—very tasty saltine crackers. At home, we amp up the shrimpy flavor and use round prawn crackers to chase our cocktail. You can easily find them at your local Asian market.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 pounds small to medium white shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 cup clam juice
- 5 Roma (plum) tomatoes, cored and quartered
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 3 Mexican oregano sprigs, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds, toasted
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 jalapenos, thinly sliced
- 4 avocados, diced
- 1 (4-ounce) bag uncooked prawn crackers or bagged shrimp chips
- Neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed, for frying
Directions:
In a medium stockpot, bring 4 quarts water to a rolling boil. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set it nearby.
Add the salt to the boiling water, then add the shrimp and cook until pink and opaque, about 1 minute.
Immediately transfer to the ice bath to cool. Drain, transfer to a large nonreactive bowl, and add the lime juice. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
In a blender, combine the clam juice, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, oregano, and celery seeds and pulse just a few times so the mixture remains chunky.
Add the onion to the shrimp, stir, and let mellow for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the tomato mixture over the shrimp.
Add the celery, jalapenos, and avocados. Stir gently so as not to smash the avocados. Refrigerate until chilled, up to 4 hours.
If using prawn crackers, fill a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot with 2 inches of oil and clip a deep-fry thermometer to the side. Heat over medium-high heat to 350°F. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet. Drop 3 or 4 crackers into the hot oil, leaving room for them to expand, and cook until they puff up, about 15 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the crackers to the rack. Repeat with the remaining crackers, letting the oil return to 350°F between batches.
Transfer the shrimp to a serving bowl and serve chilled, with the prawn crackers alongside for dipping . . . or just eat the shrimp straight from the bowl.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Our South: Black Food Through My Lens by Ashleigh Shanti © 2024. Published by Union Square & Co. Photographs © Johnny Autry.
Be sure to pre-order Ashleigh's book, Our South: Black Food Through My Lens, now!
