Editor’s note: The Swag is located in western North Carolina, an area that has been severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. The lodge closed temporarily but has reopened.
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — Executive chef Jake Schmidt collects herbs, peppers and finishing garnishes during daily walks around the Swag, an all-inclusive resort almost a mile high in the Great Smoky Mountains. The restaurant is open to non-resort guests as well, and features Schmidt’s garden-inspired Southern menu.
“When Southern ingredients are in season, their characteristics and flavors are second to none,” Schmidt said. “There is nothing like eating pole beans straight off the vine or salting and eating an heirloom tomato.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Schmidt’s philosophy is that a restaurant can’t be any better than the ingredients. “My connection to Southern food is more about ingredients than technique,” he said. “North Georgia candy roaster squash is my favorite, it’s what every winter squash wishes it tasted like.” Other ingredients he loves to harvest are grilling peppers such as Tuscans, shishitos and Hungarian wax peppers. “Corn and peppers just work really well together,” he said.
He uses simple ingredients like these, often gathered from the grounds of the Swag or purchased from area farmers, to elevate a humble side dish into a main event. Schmidt said his ever-changing succotash is “a way of showcasing what is in season.”
“I’ve always loved succotash,” Schmidt said. “One of my mentors is from West Virginia, so I have been cooking Southern food since I was up in Chicago.” The son of a former NFL football player, Schmidt moved from California to Chicago at age 3. He began cooking fresh out of culinary school and moved to Asheville in 2011, leaving to join the Swag in nearby Waynesville in 2017.
“Our owners and guests want us to be innovative with the best ingredients,” Schmidt said. While succotash is traditionally offered as a side or salad, he presents the corn-and-bean dish with a fried egg on the breakfast menu. When in season, he sometimes adds boiled peanuts or okra. “I like the twang of it (okra), especially when it is pickled.”
“My trick with corn is to roast it in the husk,” Schmidt said. “It just adds so much flavor.”
He serves the succotash with a tangy and savory tomato gravy, a dish born out of Appalachian necessity when milk or meat was scarce. “I learned to make tomato gravy from one of my sous chefs who had worked in Appalachian-centric kitchens,” Schmidt said. “I tried it and it was a revelation.” For his version, he lightly sautes onions, garlic, butter, then adds white wine and whatever tomatoes are split or bruised and juicy. “That’s kind of the history with dishes like this, to use everything up.”
While the vegetables cook down he adds Lil’ Moo cheese from Sweetgrass Dairy and some heavy cream reduced to a creamy consistency. He seasons with salt, Worcestershire sauce and homemade fermented Fresno chiles. “The Moo adds this nice, creamy, beautiful richness and the Worcestershire imparts umami that you don’t really know where it comes from,” he said.
“And then how do you make something that good even better? Throw an egg on top.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Read about other Southern classic dishes and the chefs who are reimagining them at ajc.com/food-and-recipes/southern-classics-reimagined.
The Swag’s Succotash with Tomato Gravy
Chef Jake Schmidt serves succotash with tomato gravy topped with a fried egg on the Swag’s breakfast menu. This recipe also works without the egg as a side dish for dinner.
For an easy way to separate the corn from the cob, Schmidt suggests a corn zipper. “It looks like a wide peeler, but bigger,” he said. “It saves so much time.” Schmidt recommends Silver Queen corn when it’s in season.
4 ears of white or bicolor corn in their husks
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium red onion, small diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, small diced
1 banana pepper, stem and seeds removed, small diced
4 green or wax beans, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
4 pickled okra spears, sliced into 1-inch rounds
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Salt, to taste
2 cups Tomato Gravy (see recipe)
4 fried eggs
Fresh herbs for garnish, such as chives, green onion, red sorrel or mizuna
Hot sauce, for serving
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the corn in the oven on a baking sheet or directly on the rack. Roast for 30 minutes or until the husk turns brown and corn begins to soften. Remove corn from oven and cool to the touch. Shuck the ears, discarding the husks, and remove kernels from their cobs. Place kernels in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a saute pan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until it is soft, but not brown. Add bell and banana peppers and beans, increase heat to medium-high and saute, stirring until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add the pickled okra and garlic and cook until garlic is soft, about 4 minutes. (The okra will still be crunchy.) Season with salt.
For each serving, ladle 1/2 cup Tomato Gravy in a bowl or plate. Spoon equal portions of succotash over the gravy. Top with a fried egg and garnish with fresh herbs. Serve with hot sauce on the table.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 963 calories (percent of calories from fat, 73), 20 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 24 grams total sugars, 6 grams fiber, 80 grams total fat (47 grams saturated), 406 milligrams cholesterol, 437 milligrams sodium.
Tomato Gravy
Southern-style tomato gravy is a staple that pairs well with biscuits, cornbread, grits or as a dip with chunks of crusty bread. Chef Schmidt recommends 1/2 cup Tomato Gravy per serving of succotash. Store unused gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to a year.
3 tablespoons butter
1 Vidalia onion, rough chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed with knife
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups rough-chopped overripe tomatoes
1 cup ‘Lil Moo or cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream
Salt, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste, optional
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until they start to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon until the liquid reduces by two-thirds, about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir and cook until they are falling apart, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add the cheese and heavy cream, stirring frequently and continue to cook until the gravy reduces by half, about 20 minutes.
Using an immersion blender or a stand blender, blend the hot soup until smooth and creamy. If using a stand blender, do not fill the blender more than halfway with soup. Before blending, remove the fill cap center to allow steam to escape and hold a kitchen towel over the top of the lid while blending to avoid burning yourself. Season with salt and hot sauce if desired.
Makes 4 cups.
Per 1/2 cup serving: 381 calories (percent of calories from fat, 85), 5 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 36 grams total fat (22 grams saturated), 108 milligrams cholesterol, 158 milligrams sodium.
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