I’ve got what my mum calls a “one-bum kitchen”. It’s small. And bench space is limited – in fact, I wouldn’t be able to function without the addition of this freestanding island from Ikea. And while I’ve always found the process of chopping vegetables almost therapeutic, meal prepping can become overwhelming quite quickly when the dishes start stacking up.
The other weekend I took myself off to the markets to help overcome a cooking rut. I came home with quite the haul. Roast chicken (which then became stock and subsequently a veggie-packed soup), ragu and frittata filled my meal plan. I stared at the bags of produce on my kitchen floor and took a deep breath. I had a secret weapon.
I was kindly sent Breville’s new Paradice 9 food processor to test out. And while it takes up some very precious bench space, it’s proved to be a great team player.
Firstly, all the attachments stack away inside the bowl, which means I don’t have to give up any further cupboard space for storage. They’re also colour coded so you know what goes where and how to use it (there’s a bunch of videos from the brand to help with setup, too).
The oblong chute is 120 millimetres wide, which means that you don’t really have to chop too much to begin with (something I’ve found tedious about other food processors and blenders in the past). The dicing kit comes with a tool specifically designed to clean the grid blade so that your fingers stay safely away from sharp edges. And the adjustable slicer has 15 levels, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to find the right setting for whatever recipe you’re following.
The nine-cup bowl holds a decent volume, especially since the device is designed for small kitchens and therefore, a smallish number of eaters. There’s also a shredding attachment and a dough blade included in the kit. A lot of the parts are dishwasher safe – another thing I’m thankful for in my tiny kitchen is my half-sized dishwasher.
I’m about to turn 31 and I can feel it – I can’t stop telling people how excited I am to make hummus with my new food processor. I’ve also got pork and chive dumplings, rhubarb crumble, steak with chimichurri and a four-cheese macaroni on the autumn cooking list to really put it to the test.
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