How to Cook With a Mortar & Pestle

Mortars and pestles have long been used in the kitchen to aid in cooking. Before grain grinders and food processors, mortars and pestles were used to make flours, crack nuts, grind spices and make pesto and guacamole. Mortars and pestles are still handy to have in the kitchen and can be found at most stores selling kitchen supplies. If you have a local health food store, you can generally find a wide selection of mortars and pestles made of various materials.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed with stems removed
• 3 tbsp. pine nuts
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Wire whisk
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 minced Serrano chilies
• 2 tbsp. cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp. fresh lime
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• Dash of freshly grated black pepper
• 1/2 chopped, ripe tomato

General Cooking Uses

1. Use a mortar and pestle to break up sugar that has become hardened from moisture. Place the sugar in the mortar and pound the clump with the pestle until the sugar flows freely.

2. Grind peppercorns and other spices when recipes call for fresh, ground ingredients. Depending on the size of your mortar and pestle, you can do up to a half cup of peppercorns or other spices in each batch.

3. Revive older herbs. Crushing cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices that have sat on the shelf releases both the flavor and aroma still in the spice.

Make Simple Pesto

4. Make a simple pesto sauce by combining garlic, basil leaves, salt and pine nuts in a large mortar.

5. Pound these ingredients into a paste using the pestle.

6. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and use the pestle to blend the ingredients.

7. Use a wire whisk to blend the paste into 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Serve over pasta or as a dip.

Make Guacamole

8. Cut the avocados in half and spoon the flesh into your mortar.

9. Add the 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion, 2 minced Serrano chilies, 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt, a dash of freshly grated black pepper and 1/2 chopped, ripe tomato to the bowl.

10. Use the pestle to grind and blend all the ingredients into a thick paste like dip. If you have a small mortar and pestle, do this in two batches using half the ingredients in each.

11. Spoon the dip into a covered container and refrigerate until needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Most modern mortars and pestles are made of porcelain or marble. Other materials used include ceramic, wood and plastic.

References

• Use a Mortar and Pestle on Small Amounts of Hardened Sugar, by Alice Henneman, MS, RD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County
• Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes, by Sur La Table , Marie Simmons , Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008

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