May 18 2011
A Versatile Vehicle
Many people I know tend to think French cooking is difficult, and they are particularly intimidated by its sauces. I see no reason to shy away from them, as the basic technique for making sauce is essentially fool-proof: combine butter and flour, cook, add liquid, bring to a boil while whisking until it thickens, and you’re basically done. Add some extra ingredients to jazz up the flavor, and you’ve got a sauce for any occasion.
The recipe I offer below is really a how-to for a béchamel-type sauce (with a variation), and it illustrates the steps you need to follow to succeed every time. This basic white sauce can be made with milk (as it is here) or with a light broth (such as chicken or fish). Depending on the intended use for the sauce, you can then add vegetables (such as sautéed mushrooms or spinach), chopped cooked shrimp and/or mussels (this is great served on broiled fish; use broth, not milk, as your cooking liquid), cheese, or anything else that tempts your taste buds. The point is that this is über-easy to make, can be ready in five minutes and will dress up any meal, from pasta to steamed vegetables to chicken and more.
A few things to remember: making sure the liquid is hot before you add it to the butter and flour will ensure your sauce is free of lumps. You also want to make sure you whisk the sauce well to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Should your sauce be too thick, add some cooking liquid, a little at a time. If your sauce is too thin, add a little bit of butter carefully mixed with flour to the sauce. Should your sauce have a few lumps, take it off the heat and whisk vigorously until the lumps break up and disappear. Truthfully, if you follow the instructions below carefully, you should not have any of the problems I just described.
Enjoy!
Basic White Sauce
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
dash nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Better than butter? Name one thing.
Add flour and cook for about 2 min, but do not let the mixture color.
Bubbly and beautiful
Add a pinch of salt to the milk, and bring to a boil. Take butter and flour mixture off heat, and whisk in milk all at once. Add nutmeg.
Whisk carefully while the mixture heats.
Bring back to a boil, whisking constantly. When the sauce coats the back of a spoon, take off heat. It is now ready for anything you want to add. This time, I chose finely diced jalapeño and aged Gruyère cheese.
The sauce is now ready to welcome other ingredients.
And here they are, the supporting cast.
A little bit of heat to balance things out
Cheesy and spicy; this one will go really well with some pierogies and broccoli.
Drooling.