You might know white sauce by another name – béchamel, a famous fine dining sauce and a cornerstone of French cuisine. It’s often used in lasagne, mixed with other ingredients to make more complicated sauces, or poured over main meals. We think it’s perfect alongside the crunch of our cod fish cakes.
This one does take a little bit of time so it may not be right for a midweek meal, but it’s a great gourmet choice for a party or a special dinner. Make white sauce for fish, pasta, chicken and steamed vegetables (especially spinach); the results are well worth the effort!
Preparation
Put the milk, onion, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns into a medium-sized saucepan, and heat until it’s just about boiling.
Turn off the heat and leave the mixture to stand for 25 minutes, then strain it through a sieve (or take the bits out with a slotted spoon, and save them for adding to a soup!).
Melt the butter in a non-stick pan, and stir in the flour – this will turn into a paste (known as a roux).
Cook this gently over a low heat for 3-4 minutes – and don’t stop stirring!
Now add some of the strained milk, a bit (a short pour) at a time. Keep stirring as you add it in, and it’ll slowly turn into a thick sauce.
Simmer the sauce gently for 10-15 minutes.
Taste it (carefully – we’ve burnt our tongues more than once!), add the nutmeg and some salt and black pepper.
Tip!
Add 100g of cheddar at step 6 to make a rich, cheesy white sauce (and pour over cauliflower to make cauliflower cheese).
