The Food Processor Gets a Workout Day 5: Nutella Toasted Almond Butter

I had a few suggestions for something to make in my food processor, but I have to say my favorite suggestion was from Juliet.  Heather, I was very intrigued by your recipe and will definitely be making that once my hummus runs out!  Juliet's suggestion was simply "nut butter," so of course the first thing that came to mind was peanut butter.  I love peanut butter - I'll devour it with banana, apple, on toast, on crackers, basically anything that I can spread peanut butter onto.  However, while I was shelling peanuts and realizing I didn't have enough, I was reminded of the almond butter that Juliet had made.  I don't think almonds are that much better for you than peanuts - they're high in proteins and healthy fats (as long as you eat about a handful) but I've never had almond butter before so the almonds won out in the end.

There is a second spread that I'm absolutely obsessed with: Nutella.  In college, there was a restaurant called CrepeAway, which my friends and I frequented often, usually after the hour of 12AM.  I would get a crepe with nutella, strawberries, and bananas and it was heavenly.  So why not combine two delicious spreads into one?  BOOM: Nutella Toasted Almond Butter.

You don't have to, but I wanted to remove the skin.  This is a fairly simple process in which you pour boiling water over a bowl of almonds, let them sit there for about 5 minutes, and then peel off the skin.  Then, you roast the almond to get their crunchy texture back.  You could also just get almonds without the skin - but the supermarket wasn't carrying any that were unsalted.  If your almonds don't have skins, I'd still recommend toasting them anyway.  You'll know the almonds are done roasting when you can smell them from the next room.  They'll be crispy and dried out.

I'm not going to lie, this spread basically tastes like Nutella, except it has a thicker and grainier texture (and the grainy texture is by no means a bad thing) with a slight hint of the almonds.  So if you really like Nutella, process it with some toasted almonds and you will get a thick, delicious spread that will taste good on pretty much anything.  Right after I made it, I slathered it on a slice of banana bread.  So delightful.

I hope you all enjoyed this week of recipes and tips for using your food processor!  My whole family is now using the food processor, so getting one is definitely worth the investment.  Happy processing!

BTW, I also made the most divine sandwich yesterday.  I had hinted to it in my basil pesto post, but today I finally recreated it: grilled cheese sandwich with red onions, tomatoes, and pesto mayonnaise.  It was so incredibly delicious that everyone in my family had one.  And it was super simple too: just mix the pesto with mayonnaise.  Then layer as follows: slice of ciabatta bread, pesto mayo, slice of cheese (I used American), red onions, 2nd slice of cheese, tomatoes, 3rd slice of cheese, pesto mayo, 2nd slice of bread.  Then melt butter in a pan, toast one side of the sandwich while buttering the second side, and then flip.  Believe me, it's the most delicious lunch you'll ever have.  I've never been a fan of lunch, but this sandwich makes me look forward to noon every day.

Nutella Toasted Almond Butter

Makes about 2½ cups

Ingredients

- 2 c almonds, raw and unsalted

- 1¼ c Nutella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a non-stick mat.  Spread the almonds on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

Add the roasted almonds one cup at a time and process until ground.  Add the Nutella ½ c at a time and process until creamy.  Store in airtight container – does not need to be refrigerated. 

Tips for using your food processor

- When making something thick like a spread or nut butter, add the ingredients in smaller increments to make sure everything is processed fully and evenly.  This will result in a very creamy spread.  

2 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 9:22 AM

The Food Processor Gets a Workout Day 3: Basil Pesto

For weeks, my basil plants were being suffocated by my zucchini plant, whose broad leaves blocked the little basil from reaching the sun.  My dad removed the Wisteria vine that was also threatening to take over our backyard and we had a nice little empty plot of land.  I debating whether or not I should relocate my basil plants and my mint plant (which is still in the pot for fear of it taking over my backyard as well) to this little plot of land.  I was pretty nervous about doing so because (a) it was not protected from the groundhog by a wire fence and (b) was in direct sunlight for most of the day, making the ground very dry.  I decided to go ahead and try it anyway, but during that first week some of the leaves on the basil plant were starting to wither and I was nervous that this plot wasn't going to work.  This past week, however, the basil seemed to shoot up about a foot and I finally have enough to make some pesto.

Oh so back to the groundhog...remember the first post about my poor plants being eaten before they were even planted in the ground?  Well my dad thought he had fixed the groundhog problem for good not only with the chicken wire fence we put up around our vegetables but the chicken wire patches he put underneath our fence.  A couple mornings ago, I woke up pretty early and saw Shadow standing at alert in my parents' room, nose pointed towards the window.  Anyone seen the movie "Up" when the dogs all go "POINT!"?  That's what Shadow looked like.  I looked outside to see a fat little groundhog scurrying across the lawn.  I started yelling and Shadow started barking and the thing took off back across the yard and underneath the fence.  I thought that after that my basil plants would be history but the fat little thing hasn't been back since! Ha!

Like salsa, I feel like everyone has their own favorite variation of pesto.  My favorite was pesto mayonnaise - I discovered it in college when my friend and I went to a cafe for lunch and she ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with pesto mayo.  So delicious!!  It was so simple too - a grilled cheese with red onion, tomato, and two or three different types of cheese slathered in pesto mayo.  I will certainly be making that sandwich now that I have my own pesto (and with my food processor I can even make my own mayo!).

This recipe was incredibly simple: pesto, garlic, some oil, and some salt all in the food processor.  I know that pine nuts are a staple in many pestos, but I'm not really a fan...

There are so many different things you can do with pesto - put it on pasta, on garlic bread, on meat or chicken, on pizza, the possibilities are endless!  And as always, fresh pesto (like the salsa) is so much more delicious than anything you can buy at the store.  And it's so incredibly easy to make!  I would definitely recommend doubling the recipe if you plan to use this pesto on pasta or pizza, since it will only make about 1 cup.  I hope I'm soon overrun by basil so I can continue to make pesto throughout the summer.

Add olive oil slowly through one of the
holes in the cover of the food processor

Pesto

Makes about 1 cup

Ali B original

Ingredients

- 2 c basil, packed

- 2 cloves garlic, peeled

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- salt, to taste

Directions

Add basil and garlic to food processor and pulse until the leaves and garlic are minced.  Add the olive oil through one of the holes in the cover of the food processor 1 tbsp at a time until the pesto becomes creamy and runs down the sides of the food processor bowl.  Add salt to taste.  Store in fridge.  

Tips for using your food processor

- Don't hold down the chop or grind button, pulse it instead.  If you hold down the button and keep the motor running for too long at a time that little motor will burn out quickly.  

2 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 10:38 AM