Quick blender béchamel sauce
This is a labour-saving way to make béchamel sauce and tastes just as good as the traditional version (see the cheese sauce). Parsley sauce is particularly easy when made by this method because you don’t have to chop the parsley; simply pop the sprigs into the blender with everything else.
SERVES 4
25g (1oz) butter
25g (1oz) plain flour
275–425ml (10–15fl oz) milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the butter, flour and milk into the blender, then add about ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grinding of black pepper.
Blend at high speed for a few seconds to break up the butter and mix everything together. There will be some lumpy bits of butter, but that doesn’t matter.
Pour the mixture into a medium-sized saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Stir the sauce until it has thickened, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Lengthy simmering, to avoid a raw, floury taste, is particularly important with this method because there has been no initial cooking of the flour, as in traditional sauce-making.
VARIATION
Celery sauce
3–4 tablespoons of very finely chopped celery and ½ teaspoon of celery salt can be added to the sauce after blending and simmered until tender.
Cheese sauce
Add 125g (4oz) grated cheese after the sauce has cooked.
Egg sauce
Add three very finely chopped hardboiled eggs and a pinch of mace to the basic sauce.
Fennel sauce
Add 2–3 tablespoons of very finely chopped fennel bulb to the sauce before simmering.
Green herb sauce
Use 1–2 tablespoons of very finely chopped fresh green herbs (whatever is available), and add just before serving.
Lemon sauce
Add some finely grated lemon rind and juice to the basic white sauce. You can intensify the colour with a pinch of turmeric.
Mushroom sauce
This is good with vegetables and for serving with pasta and gnocchi. To make it, wash and finely slice 125g (4oz) button mushrooms, fry them in a little butter for a minute or two, then add them to the sauce.
Mustard sauce
Add 1 tablespoons of French mustard and a little lemon juice to the sauce after cooking.
Onion sauce
Another useful variation, good when you want to add more flavour to a dish. Peel and finely chop an onion, then fry it in the butter before blending with the other ingredients. Try flavouring with a pinch of ground cloves.
Parsley sauce
Add sprigs of parsley into the blender with the other ingredients at the beginning of the process.
Watercress sauce
Add ½–1 bunch of finely chopped watercress to the sauce, or add unchopped watercress to the sauce and blend it.
Vegan béchamel sauce v
Use vegan margarine instead of butter, and soya milk.
Bread sauce
One of the delights of Christmas dinner, and it’s every bit as good with a vegetarian main course as it is with a meat one.
SERVES 4–6
1 onion 3 cloves
275ml (10fl oz) milk or unsweetened soya milk
1 bay leaf
2 large slices of fresh white bread, crusts removed
15g (½oz) butter
1–2 tbsp double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Put the onion, studded with the cloves, into a saucepan and add the milk and the bay leaf.
Bring to the boil, then take off the heat, add the slices of bread, cover and leave to one side for 15–30 minutes for the flavours to infuse.
Remove the onion and bay leaf, beat the mixture to break up the bread and stir in the butter and cream, adding salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
If you are making the sauce in advance, you can put back the onion and bay leaf once you have beaten it smooth; they will continue to flavour the sauce until you’re ready to reheat and serve it.
Cheese sauce
Cheese sauce is useful both for incorporating into other dishes before baking or grilling, and for serving with vegetables to make them into more of a meal. It’s worth using a strongly flavoured cheese, and you can boost the flavour with a good seasoning of mustard, cayenne and freshly ground black pepper. Unsweetened soya milk makes a particularly good, creamy sauce and Double Gloucester gives it a pretty colour.
MAKES 275ML (10FL OZ)
25g (1oz) butter
25g (1oz) plain flour
1 bay leaf
275–425ml (10–15fl oz) milk or unsweetened soya milk
50g (2oz) grated cheese – Cheddar or Double Gloucester
1 tsp mustard powder
cayenne
