Thick White Sauce

Contributed by Julie Castle

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter

• 3 Tbsp. flour

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1½ cups milk

Method:

• In 1-quart saucepan, melt butter and add flour.

• Cook on medium heat until the flour turns thick and comes away from the side of the saucepan.

• Pour milk into flour a little at a time and whisk constantly to avoid lumps.

• Add salt.

• Mixture should thicken and become like thick pudding.  Remember to stir constantly, taking care not to let mixture lump or scorch on bottom.

• Use immediately or set aside until ready to add to recipe.

Notes:

• This is the recipe called for in the Copy Cat Outback Onion Soup.

• A good rule of thumb for white sauces is 1 Tbsp flour to every 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 cup of milk.  The Outback Soup recipe calls for a thicker white sauce to make the soup really thick and creamy, hence less milk.  If you find the sauce is just too thick for you, add small amounts of milk and allow to thicken before deciding to add more until you get the consistency you like.

• Add some Dijon mustard and nutmeg will turn your white sauce into a Bechamel Sauce.

• If the first time you make a white sauce you get lumps, don’t worry about it.  You just created dumplings!  If you really, really need the sauce to be smooth, process it in small batches in processor or blender.  Don’t put the top on the blender tightly, better yet take the insert out of the lid or you’ll have a sauce explosion in your kitchen.  I’ve done it so you don’t have to!