Among the many labor-saving devices in Maine was a Cuisinart minichopper, just like a regular food processor only pint-sized. Probably literally. (Okay, I checked, and it’s actually 21 ounces.)
I’ve had an irrational prejudice against these. They take up counter space, and Jacques Pepin and his chef’s knife could easily beat them in a chopping contest. I think I had one and got rid of it. What I wasn’t prepared to admit is that I am not Jacques Pepin.
I made three batches of phad thai in Maine, which meant mincing a dozen shallots and a head of garlic. The minichopper did this just as well as I could have, in a fraction the time, and it was easier to clean than a full-size food processor. This is probably not news to anyone but me.
James Oseland, I now recall, swears by these little machines for making curry pastes. You know, that big mortar and pestle that I never use also takes up counter space.
I have one. :-) It was a wedding gift. I use it off-and-on — sometimes it’s more trouble to get it out and set it up (I don’t keep it on the counter) than to use the knife. Other times I’m willing. I’m not good at chopping really finely, so if that’s what I want I tend to use the processor.
Do you end up with a lot of liquid separated from the solids when you do this?
There was some, JR. Not enough to bother me for this use, certainly. I probably wouldn’t use it for, say, duxelles, where the food processor has given me problems.