I can’t say I have the most well-equipped kitchen. Living in the city (read: in a small apartment) makes you pick and choose exactly what you want/need and nothing more.
In fact, in our first apartment, our kitchen was the size of a closet. A really, really small closet with a compact fridge. Once we moved to a slightly larger kitchen closet last year, I got a couple appliances I had my eye on for a while.
However, the one appliance I’ve had all along is my food processor. Correction: my mom’s old food processor… that is possibly older than me, but still works like a charm.
Why was that my kitchen appliance of choice? It is not humanly possible for me to whiz things into magical pastes like a food processor. Maybe I could, but it would likely take all day. The possibilities are endless. How I use it:
- Nut butters. In minutes.
- Chopping up veggies for salads. Carrots, onions, herbs, etc. Have you ever made tabbouleh?(Planning to share a recipe soon!) The food processor is my secret tool for quickly chopping parsley and onions.
- Hummus (of course!) Before I had a high powered blender, I always made my hummus in a food processor. I make hummus at least every other week. That’s A LOT of hummus, and it has always turned out great.
- Chopping nuts. For bars, baklava (how Lebanese am I right now?), etc.
- Mixing together salad dressings
- Banana nice cream
- Pestos. This magical appliance whips up an easy pasta sauce in seconds, which brings me to my next recipe…
Pine nuts are pricey, so I am always looking for alternatives and ways to make pestos without them. Also, I love a creamy pasta, but I don’t really tolerate cream well. Enter this pesto: creamy, nutty, cheesy, and completely satisfying. Sometimes I eat this on pasta, sometimes it goes on toast with an egg, and sometimes I just eat it with crackers.
My favorite way to eat it is with 1/2 zoodles, 1/2 spaghetti, and some juicy tomatoes.
- 1 ripe avocado
- ⅓ cup basil, lightly packed
- ¼ cup raw walnuts
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan*, plus extra for topping
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, mashed
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- In a food processor, combine all ingredients, or for a more textured pesto, separate the walnuts to be added later. I like to add them toward the end and keep processing until they are well-incorporated and very finely chopped (to add some texture to the pesto). Process until creamy or desired texture is reached.
- Eat immediately or store in the fridge for a couple days (see notes). You can also freeze this pesto to use later.
While this pesto is best eaten immediately, it can be stored in the fridge for a couple days. Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the pesto to prevent browning on top. You can also freeze this pesto to use later!
What is the one kitchen appliance you can’t live without?
Katie says
July 17, 2016 at 9:35 pmI made it without the parmesan and tossed it with pasta. Yummy!!! And, as a mom, I love that it’s so easy to put together. 🙂
Christine says
July 18, 2016 at 9:15 amGlad you loved it! I also love how easy it is – definitely a go-to during the weekdays for me.
Audrey says
November 25, 2017 at 11:39 amAlso made this without the cheese, and tossed with pasta as well. It was delicious and easy!
Added some peas and may add sundried tomatoes next time. Sprinkled red pepper flakes on top for some added kick.
Thank you! 🙂
Christine says
December 13, 2017 at 5:47 pmYum, the sun dried tomatoes and peas sound like a fantastic addition. I have been loving adding sliced cherry tomatoes. I always love this creamy pesto with a hefty sprinkle of red pepper flakes, too! Glad you enjoyed it!