I usually avoid using a food processor because of the inconvenience it causes in my too-small kitchen, but I didn’t really want to chop a packed cup of basil, so I hauled it out and it did a rather nice job. There are lots of variations on pesto, but this one was the classic basil, pignolia, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. I didn’t add cheese because I wasn’t sure whether I would freeze it and the hard grated cheeses don’t freeze that well.
It called to me from the refrigerator the very next day, so I was glad I hadn’t frozen it. Ah, yes, I will make some pasta with pesto, a few nice shrimp, and those lovely fresh green beans I just bought. And then…no long pasta in the larder! Who doesn’t have linguine, or vermicelli, or angel hair, or something long in the pasta spot? Argh! I don’t’ know why I have a minor aversion to short pasta with pesto, but I had my heart set enough on this meal to temporarily ignore it.
The only grating cheese I had was asiago, so the pesto became a variation I hadn’t heard of, but tasted quite good nonetheless. The beans and the shrimp were steamed (separately) then tossed in plain butter: between the pesto and the herb garlic bread, the nose had quite enough to do with this meal.
2 comments:
Have you looked into the Cuisinart Mini Chop? It's like an electric can-opener-sized food processor. I love it for small jobs like a single onion or a small amount of dressing. My food processor is not on my counter at all times, but the mini chop is.
I have a Cuisinart SmartStick and sometimes use the chopping bowl for small stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-77-Blender-Chopper-Attachments/dp/B0006G3JRO
My trouble with food processors is that I'm usually not blending, I'm usually chopping more than one thing, so I have to clean the darned thing in between each item to be chopped. I don't want red tomato juice on my onions if they're not going in the same dish, and I don't want the tomatoes to taste like onions, etc. Much easier to clean a knife and wipe a board.
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