Cookbook: Dinner from Echo Park’s New Green Grocer

Locally-grown, organic and quality foods are hard to find in eastside neighborhood markets, so I was psyched when word came that Marta Teegan of Homegrown was opening a green grocer in Echo Park. When I finally stepped into Cookbook, I wasn’t disappointed. The tiny shop carries an abbreviated yet satisfying collection of fruit, veggies, cheese, and pantry staples like flour, sugar, green tea, coffee and various cooking oils. Spotted: very hard-to-find Matiz Sugared Tortas, Spanish olive oil crisps encrusted in sugar and spiked with anise.

But I wasn’t looking for sweets—my Cookbook mission was to find fixings for an effortless meal. I was directed to an incredibly tempting selection of fresh pasta and sauces catered by Heirloom LA (they also supply some pretty yummy-looking sandwiches in the deli case). After some tortured deliberation, I chose the Mushroom Ravioli, which had a hint of citrus flavor, and some very meaty Wild Boar Bolognese. To round it out, I grabbed a block of parmesan, served myself some Cerignola olives and asked for a small container of the picturesque roasted peppers and kale from the deli case.

At $34, the price tag for all this was a little steep, but it did create a meal for two that was better quality and a lot cheaper than what I’ve had in many restaurants. My only addition was some sauteed mushrooms (and a couple of glasses of red wine), so the entire preparation took about 10 minutes. Plus, I think I’ll be using that cheese for another month.

My only regret is not buying those Matiz tortas…

Check out more pics-just click to expand:

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-Valentina

Cookbook (Map It)
1549 Echo Park Ave.
Los Angeles, Ca 90026
a.k.a “Chicken Corner”