I first learned to make a white sauce while living in England and attending the Cordon Bleu Cookery School.
The problem with White Sauce or Cheese Sauce (Mornay sauce is another name for the cheese sauce) is that they are sometimes lumpy. The flour cooks into a lump while you are trying to stir it in on the burner. Then you add the milk and it sort of gets out of hand.
That is the beauty of the technique they taught us there. You melt the butter and then once it has foamed, you remove it from the heat and add the flour off heat. It allows you to ensure that the roux is the right consistency and you even start to add the milk to the mixture before you put it back on the burner.
The result is a perfectly smooth sauce every time… it sort of brings me back to the old mud pies we used to make in the summer!
Mornay sauce is lovely on freshly cooked vegetables and pasta!
White Sauce & Cheese Sauce (Mornay Sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1.2 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
For Cheese Sauce
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese - grated
For Cheese Sauce (Optional)
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan.
- When the butter has just foamed, remove it from the burner and add the flour and salt off the heat.
- When it is stirred together, it should form a soft roux. This means that you should be able to draw a line through the mixture and it will not all flow back. If it does, then you need to add a tiny bit of flour.
- While still off the stove, add a little bit of the milk and stir. You will see that it looks a little thicker; add a little more milk, stir, and then put it back on the burner. Continue to add the milk gradually, stirring all the while. When it comes to a boil (bubbles breaking the surface), let it cook for another minute. Depending on what you are using it for, you might like to add white pepper, or if aesthetics don't matter, a nice grinding of black pepper. If all you're after is a white sauce, you're done!
Cheese Sauce
- If you are making a cheese sauce, the mustard added to the white sauce will add depth to the flavour of the cheese. Then add the cheese, give it a little mix, and then take it off the heat and cover it. In about five minutes, the cheese will have melted.