White Sauce is an adapted name and an adapted sauce to cater for the palates in the sub-continent. It is more
commonly known as Béchamel sauce.
But, Béchamel sauce is pretty basic and is quite bland in taste if I’m being honest. Certain levels of tweaking and
alterations are needed and it can turn into something delicious – which brings us to White Sauce.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp neutral oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
750 ml. milk
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 tsp white pepper powder
1 tsp chicken or mushroom powder
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
Method:
In a hot, preferably stainless steel pan, start with oil and butter.
When the butter is melted, add the chopped garlic and sweat it for around two minutes until is passes being translucent
and starts to brown.
Add the flour and stir it vigorously until it takes a paste like consistency, which is called Roux.
Add the milk (cold) in small batches while constantly stirring it with a whisk to avoid any lumps.
Remember, hot roux and cold milk = no lumps.
Once all the milk is added, you will notice it looks thicker than the milk was, that’s because of the flour in the milk.
Bring the milk to a gentle boil, add the nutmeg, white pepper, chicken or mushroom powder and dried oregano.
Lower the heat and let it simmer for another two minutes to allow the herbs and spices to blend with the milk.
Your Basic White Sauce is ready.
Yield: Two portions
Applications: Lasagna, pasta, macaroni and cheese, pie filling, roll filling, pizza sauce, loaded fries, grilled chicken.
Further alterations can be made with Parmesan, cheddar or mozzarella cheese to make it thicker and cheesy.
You may also add a pinch or two of chilli flakes to add a bit of kick to it without compromising the color.
I know this is far from Béchamel sauce, but the idea comes from there. There are many ways in which this can be
improved and made even better, but what I have shared above is where it all starts.
Videos where I have used variants of this sauce:
Lasagna
Loaded Fries
Macaroni & Cheese