Farmers market field trip with Eric Greenspan

(Credit: deedee deGelia)

The sky is speckled with rain clouds, and though the weather isn’t ideal for a trip to the Hollywood Farmers Market, Eric Greenspan, executive chef of the Foundry, is willing to stick it out for the sake of instruction. Greenspan is the ideal educator for a session on DIY seasonal fine dining. In addition to working under chefs Alain Ducasse, Joachim Splichal and Ferran Adria, Greenspan has taught at the Hollywood Kitchen Academy.

In wake of the flailing economy, he’s leading a program in which he shows guests how to cook and shop like a chef, encouraging participants to eat at home instead of in his restaurant.

“People are cooking at home a lot more now,” Greenspan says. “I want to give them that personal connection to me and the restaurant so that when people are ready to dine out again, they know we’re here.” It’s an unconventional concept, but starting this week, Greenspan will unleash his knowledge on the common folk. And we’re going for a test-drive.

Greenspan leads us around the farmers market, stopping sporadically to taste produce and chat with the vendors. “I always take a look around first,” he explains. “It’s a very visual process. We eat with our eyes first.” He continues dispensing wisdom: “The best way to know if something is good is to check the leaves. Are they wilted? Pay attention to the color. Does the skin look supple?”

Hovering over some unfamiliar bumpy Bloomsdale spinach from South Central Farmers, I ask what to do if you have no idea what the produce is supposed to look like. Without hesitation, Greenspan rips off a pocked piece of spinach and gnaws away. There’s a strange feeling of immunity when shopping with a chef; the sense of being a kid stealing candy from the bulk bins is gone.

Next door, a stall boasts full heads of bright purple radicchio. “This is gorgeous,” Greenspan says. Just like that, our lunch is set. We follow the taste-test procedure for the rest of the ingredients—grapefruits, blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, baby beets, Chioggia beets and arugula—and head back to the Foundry.

In the kitchen, Greenspan goes over some standard tools and secret weapons for savvy at-home chefs: two good, regularly sharpened knives (a chef’s knife and a paring knife, both of which can be found at Anzen Hardware); a mandolin (available at most Asian markets); and a good potato peeler (from a kitchen supply store, such as Surfas). “Good tools don’t have to cost a fortune, if you go to the right place,” he says. 

We begin by roasting baby beets with olive oil, kosher salt and a bit of water (to prevent charring). The beets are wrapped in aluminum foil to facilitate steaming. They’re done when a paring knife slides in easily, picks up the beet and slips right out.

Next, Greenspan peels raw Chioggia beets and slices them with a mandolin. “Claw your fingers like a bird of prey around the beet,” he instructs. “It prevents you from slicing your fingers off. You can even make a crowing sound if that helps remind you of your bird-like finger positioning.” We proceed to slice beets while crowing like birds. This whole learning thing is pretty fun.

Greenspan is a character, cracking jokes as he demonstrates how to segment citrus, sauté radicchio in blood orange juice and red wine vinegar, and properly dress a salad. (If you dress the salad in the same bowl you serve it in, the salad will get soggy and saturated. Do it in a separate bowl and mix by hand.) We plate the salad and chow down. The stratified layers of sweet, tart, bitter, raw and sautéed elements make for an incredibly complex salad.

It’s the little tricks and insider tips Greenspan offers that separate us common folk from white-coat-clad chefs, and he’s happy to share. His classes will cover three-course meals with wine pairings, so you can save some dough on dining out and impress your friends in your own home.

Eric Greenspan’s classes begin Sun., April 5, at the Hollywood Farmers Market. To sign up, and for more info, call 323-651-0915.

Recipe: radicchio, citrus and beet salad

2 baby beets
4 segments of grapefruit
4 segments of blood orange
4 segments of Cara Cara orange
1 head of radicchio
2 ounces of arugula
5 ounces of blood orange juice, divided
1 ounce of red wine vinegar
1 Chioggia beet
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper

(serves one)

Place unpeeled baby beets in a baking dish with a bit of olive oil, kosher salt and water. Wrap each beet in foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

While beets are cooking, chop off the bottom of the head of radicchio, and pull off the leaves. Place in a hot sauté pan coated with olive oil. Add red wine vinegar and 4 ounces of the blood orange juice. Cook until leaves are slightly wilted but the white is still crisp.

Combine remaining ounce of blood orange juice with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper to make a vinaigrette. Thinly slice raw Chioggia beets with a mandolin. Segment citrus fruits. Place arugula and Chioggia beats in small mixing bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss with hands. Peel the cooked and cooled baby beets, and cut into quarters.
 
To plate, lay down a few leaves of the cooked radicchio. Add arugula, beets and citrus segments. Top with a few slices of raw Chioggia beats. Repeat layering of ingredients as desired. Bon appetit!