Mornay Sauce

By GratefulSea

From America's Test Kitchen's Cooking School. Mornay sauce can be served with blanched or steamed vegetables or poached or steamed fish or shellfish. It can also be used in casseroles, gratins, egg dishes, or pasta dishes.

Once you master the mechanics of making a roux, you can make other flour-thickened sauces, including béchamel or velouté. Brown sauces, such as classic American gravy, rely on a very similar technique—the roux is just cooked longer to develop color and nutty flavors.

The sauce will keep for 2 days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 2 2 to cups whole milk (plus more as needed to thin sauce) *
• 4 4 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3-1/2 3-1/2 3-1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• Pinch Pinch ground white pepper * *
• 2 2 2 ounces Parmesan, cheddar, blue, Swiss and/or Gruyère cheese * * *
• Low-fat milk can be used in this recipe, although the sauce will be less rich and thinner. Do not use skim milk.
• Any good cheese can be used in this sauce.

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 20mins
Adapted from onlinecookingschool.com

Preparation

Step 1

PREPARE CHEESE

1. Grate, shred, or crumble 2 ounces cheese. Use rasp grater to grate Parmesan or box grater to shred cheddar, Swiss, or Gruyère. Blue cheese can be crumbled.

HEAT MILK

2. Heat 2 cups milk in small saucepan over low heat until hot but not scalded or boiling.

MAKE ROUX

3. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.

4. When butter stops foaming, whisk in 3 ½ tablespoons flour.

5. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Do not let flour brown.

6. Remove saucepan from heat.

ADD MILK

7. Add several Tablespoons hot milk and whisk vigorously.

8. Repeat, adding a few tablespoons more milk.

9. Use wooden spoon to scrape roux from edges of pan.

10. Return pan to very low heat.

11. Slowly whisk in remaining milk.

12. Stop once or twice to scrape roux from edges of pan with wooden spoon.

13. Raise heat to medium-low.

14. Add ¼ teaspoon salt.

COOK SAUCE

15. Simmer gently, whisking often, until sauce thickens to consistency of thick heavy cream, 6 to 10 minutes.

16. Remove pan from heat.

ADD CHEESE

17. Whisk in pinch white pepper and cheese until cheese has melted and sauce is smooth.

18. If necessary, whisk in more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce is thinned to desired consistency.