Food Processers - Are they really labour saving ??

[colette]

Just Bought a new food processer as I am 7mnths preg and wanted to stock up freezer with home made food - but I used it for the first time on saturday and spent about one and a half hours making meatballs ( ananbel Karmel recipe - that I should have read thro' first, plus I am pretty dizzy at the mo.)
Dh said I don't see how it saves time!! He didn't really want to get one .
So has anyone any recipes that show how indispesible a food proc. is and what do you find it most useful for??

I use mine to make Pesto. Ds Luurrrvs it, but coz it's got pine kernals in it you should wait until dd/ds is 12mths old. But it's delicious for you too!

Don't know the measurements but here goes:

1 clove garlic
large hand full of fresh basil leaves
a good glug (getting technical here!!) of EV Olive oil
A sprinking of grated frsh parmesan cheese
A handful of Pine nuts and/or Cashew nuts.

Blend it into a paste (add Olive oil as needed)

Stir it through cooked pasta and serve with some more grated parmesam on top and loads of black pepper. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I'm starrrrrrving now.

Also excellent for pureeing fruit and veg when first weaning!!

I have found my food processor invaluable, especially if you have a dishwasher to wash up all the bits after you. Especially with a new baby I used mine to do simple things like grate cheese, chop up the veggies to put on pizza etc. Mine has a small integral bowl that I still use (DS2 11 months) to whizz up family meals for DS2 and also used it to make purees when first weaning him. Also handy to puree soups and sauses.

Nigella has a processor method for fairy cakes which makes things really quick and I have made dough for pasta in it, I also have a recipe for cookies which came with my food processor and is yummy which I will post later if you like. I have found a few recipes needing pureed onion etc, also breadcrumbs are really quick and easy, you can mince up your own beef (to make spag bol or chilli Jamie Oliver style). Also if you are just pushed for time you can use it to chop onions etc, personally I prefer to do this by hand but if I am really pushed for time then I will use the machine. Use it to make lovely homemade coleslaw, yummm!

Sorry I think I have gone on a bit. Can you tell I like my food processor? Also can you believe that I didn't actually want one it was my DH?

Completely agree with demented and use mine for all the same things! It is fab for anything where you have to 'rub in' fat eg pastry as it saves loads of time and mess and keeps the pastry nice and cool. Actually, its probably the one kitchen gadget I use almost every day.

A food processor can also be used to make a pommes dauphinoises really quickly.

Peel potatoes, put in the "slicing attachment", feed potatoes down tube. Squish a garlic clove around a big gratin dish (any large, fairly shallow dish will do - I use an oval lasagne dish) - I then leave the remnants of the clove in the dish. Liberally squish butter around the dish. Layer the sliced potatoes (food processors are wondeful!) into the dish - doesn't need to be tidy. Pour over a half and half mixture of cream and milk (seaoned with salt and peppper - I always forget that bit) till the potatoes are about covered. Put into an oven at about 160C for an hour to and hour and half - until the potatoes are "meltingly soft" anyway!

Recipe courtesy of Nigel Slater - give or take a detail or two (like I'm not sure about the temperature, but I know he says it shouldn't be too hot).

Hi colette, you'll be weaning your baby at some point so I've just got one word for you re whether or not food processors are useful: puree. Honestly, you really will find it useful! I've just made Nigella's fairy cakes so here you go:
125g self raising flour
125g castor sugar
125g butter
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
whizz all the ingredients together and then when it's smooth add 2 tbsps milk and whizz again. Put into fairy cake cases/tin and bake for 15 mins ish. This really is time saving I reckon.

I really want a Kitchen Aid but will have to make do with my ancient old thing.

Completely agree with wickedwaterwitch, the fairy cakes are so easy and foolproof. It may seem a long way off, but before you know it you'll be making dozens of them for your child's birthday parties! The other thing I find food processors useful for (because I'm v. lazy) is pastry and fruit crumble- anything that requires rubbing-in can be done in seconds.

www- do kitchen aids have a blade bit for crumbles/purees etc or are they more like a kenwood chef. They do look fantastic but so large couldnt have that and processor out

Thanks for the replies it is motivating me!
Mum2toby -Dh really loves pesto so I will try it. JanZ those potatoes sound a bit wicked!!
Tamun to "rub in " do I use the blender part??
I'm pretty useless at cakes - sponges always end up hard on the outside and raw on the middle - not sure if it's my oven temp (I need a thermometer but not sure where u get one) or me. But I will try the fairy cakes they sound so quick and easy.
Any more recipes welcome

try this - put some red lentils on to boil. throw 5 carrots and 3 onions in your food processor.Process. Add some ex mature cheddar. Process a bit. Mix with lentils and a bit of veg stock and an egg. Bake . Yum.

Hi Colette, I just use the blades bit for rubbing-in. This is on a magimix. I'm not sure if that's what you're supposed to use (mine's ancient), but it certainly works!

Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe:-

50g walnuts
125g caster sugar
1 egg
75g chocolate chips
150g self raising flour
75g butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Fit the double-bladed knife. Put the walnuts into the bowl and process for 5 seconds or until roughly chopped, then remove and keep on one side.

Put the flour, sugar, butter, egg and vanilla essence into the bowl and process for 5-10 seconds or until just mixed. Add the walnuts and the chocolate chips and use the pulse switch two or three times to just mix them in.

Using a spoon drop them into small mounds onto a well greased baking sheet and bake in a hot oven (190 C, 375 F, Gas 5) for 10 -15 minutes or until they have spread out and are golden brown. Using a spatula lift the biscuits from the trays and put on a wire rack to cool and harden.

Yum!

If you happen to have the same food processor as I do you will probably recognise the recipe!

I killed my hand blender - it didn't mind fruit/veg puree when dd was small, but thinking it would cope with chicken was a bit optimistic...

I'm looking to replace it with a food processor, so wondered what sort you've got? Any recommendations/ things to avoid? I don't have any other kitchen gadgets. I keep trying to persuade myself that it will be in daily use and therefore worth the money, so keep the recipes coming!

CraftyCat we've got a Magimix quite expensive but very robust, got it a bit cheaper in Costco, may be worth a look if you have got a card. I like the different sized bowls that come with the Magimix and you can buy all sorts of attachments to add to the basic attachments supplied, you can even add a juicer.

Another vote for Nigella's fairy cakes - dead easy and quick to make in the food processor.

I also use the FP to make the batter for pancakes (crepes or American pancake style) - although I do then pour the batter into a jug, to make for easier dispensing into the frying pan!

It is also good for grating - eg cheese or potatoes. And the added benefit of less chance of grated fingers!

My food processor is rather bulky and cumbersome. As it takes too much space on the worksurface it spends most of its life in a cupboard and consequently I keep forgetting about it. I find although they are useful it somehow causes lots of washing up for me, which is a real turn off for me.

I like the hand held blenders and used it lots when I used to puree dd's food

I used a hand held one for little purreeing jobs when lottie was just starting on solids. Find both are invaluable. Sod finely chopping anything by hand. No more weeping over onions for me.
Have printed off this thread and will make my first ever cakes this weekend! Nice one, thank you.

hi www

just wanted to thank you for posting the recipe for fairy cakes. did them today for ds's b'day party tomorrow and they are great! some quality control tasting involved, you understand...

have to say, no-one could possibly mistake my efforts for shop bought... so many of them have that unmistakable wonky home-made look!

Ooooooh, what a dangerous thread. I can feel an expensive trip to a kitchen department coming on!

craftycat, I hate my food processor, a moulinex, but only because of the design. If I had one designed by someone who actually used one regularly rather than one designed by an idiot, I'm sure I'd use mine more.

What I hate about mine (and hopefully most are not like this)

• you have to have the lid correctly locked in place on the food processor bit, even if you just want to use the blender, so I find that I spend ages rummaging around looking for & fitiing loads of bits I'm not actually using. The blender will not work without the food processor bowl & lid in place. Is this normal? What's the point?
• It leaks a bit, so if you're quickly zapping flour & marge you're showered in flour which flies out of the tiny gaps in lids. Aslo if you're zapping liquids, some inevitably spills out. Again, this is just shit design, right?
• On the food processor, you need to put the blade in place then add ingredients. You can't easily do ingredients with the bowl on a scale, then put the bowl onto the machine as it's almost impossible to get the blade on after the ingredients. Again, I fine this a real hassle. Is this the norm with other food processors? Am I just fussy or do I have a really crap one??

Plus not all of the bits are dishwasher safe, but can never remember which are, so end up usually washing everything!

I just bought an old Magimix Robotchef for £3 at a car boot sale and it's GREAT!!! I used it constantly in the week when I had a big 'cook in' to stock the freezer and I'm completely sold on it! ( was unsure thus the purchase for £3 so if I hated it no great loss!)

www, just to thank you once again for posting nigella's recipe below - i have made it loads since, but always have to come back here to print it off each time!!! it works a treat and is really delicious.

You're very welcome sq!