LA Weekly: Eatz Opens In December + Recipe for Khoresh Fesenjan
ELINA SHATKIN
Chef and founder Niki Tehranchi likes for an evening at Eatz to feel as much like a dinner party as it does a cooking class. After nearly two-and-a-half years of running her DIY cooking school out of her house, she'll be moving into new, professional digs on December 1st.
The upgrade will find Eatz at 612 N. LaBrea Ave., the former space of short-lived pizzeria Verrazano's (sniff, sniff) and before that, The Pig. The number of classes will increase from 2-3 per week to 4-6 per week.
These include the six-week Condensed Culinary School Series that covers a different subject every week (chicken, seafood, pastry, etc.) as well as one-off, themed classes like Your Home Steakhouse, Tapas and Easy Weeknight Eats.
"It's really hands-on," Tehranchi says. "People get to know each other in the class. They drink wine while they're doing it."
She also shared with us her recipe for khoresh fesenjan, a tart chicken and pomegranate stew she learned to cook from her mother and now teaches in her Persian Dinner Party class.
"I'm Persian. We had dinner parties that went until 3 a.m. I was trying to think of a way to combine socializing and cooking. [Eatz] is social as much as its instructional."
Khoresh Fesenjan
From: Niki Tehranchi of Eatz
Note: The dish is meant to be served with steamed basmati rice.
Serves: 2
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound chicken, cut up
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
3 ounces walnuts, toasted and finely ground in a food processor
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups pomegranate juice
1-2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
2 teaspoons sugar
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken and onions in skillet, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in pureed walnuts, salt, pomegranate juice, and cardamom. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (If the sauce becomes too thick, stir in 1/4 cup warm water.) Mix in sugar, adjust seasoning, and simmer 30 minutes more.