A healthy alternative.

Manu Feildel, a judge from the TV show here in Australia “My Kitchen Rules”,  often asks show contestants, “where’s the sauce?”

Yes, sauce is such an important part of a meal. It gives it added flavour, moisture and richness that without it, the meal would be rather lack lustre, dry and boring. Some sauces are in the supporting role while others are the leading role and are so integral to the meal, the meal itself won’t exist without the sauce. Think fish pie, macaroni cheese and lasagne to name a few. That’s where we segway the conversation to talk about low fat white sauce in particular.

The secret… your microwave!

I’ve been making white sauce for years. In my early days of cooking it was on the stovetop while dutifully whisking the butter and hoping like heck that the sauce didn’t go lumpy or the milk didn’t burn on the bottom of the pot. It was then that I decided that there had to be a better way. An easier way to make the sauce. That’s when I decided to try and make the sauce in the microwave… without butter. Well… the idea of the butter is to create a roux (pronounced “roo”) to ease the flour into the milk and avoid lumps. But with the microwave method, I felt the butter was no longer needed. So I left it out! Besides… it’s just fat that I felt was redundant. I mean… if you can do without, isn’t that better for you?

In terms of the milk, I just use whatever milk I have available in the house which is more than likely low-fat milk. You can use either skim milk or full cream milk without issue. If you go with a skim milk, you can honestly say that this sauce is fat-free!

Fat Free White Sauce

This is an easy and mess-free way to make white sauce. The added bonus is there is no butter added making this sauce a creamy white colour. Use this sauce as a base for many other variations with a few listed here.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 1 cup

Ingredients

 

• 250 ml low-fat milk, cold
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• salt
• Pepper

Instructions

 

• In a bowl, add in the milk, plain flour and cornflour. Whisk together.
• Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes in 30 second blasts, stirring after every 30 seconds.
• Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Notes

• Adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding or removing both flour and cornflour.
  • For thin white sauce (as used in cream soups), follow the instructions above, but use 2 teaspoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of cornflour.
  • For thick white sauce (as used in soufflés), follow the instructions above, but use 1.5 tablespoons of flour and 3 tablespoons of cornflour.
  • For heavy white sauce (as used as a binder for croquettes), follow the instructions above, but use 2 tablespoons of flour and 4 tablespoons of cornflour.
• This recipe can be used as a base for other sauces.
  • For a Bechemel Sauce, add 1 bayleaf and 1/2 onion (peeled) studded with 2 cloves to the milk only. Put in microwave for 1.5 minutes but in 30 second blasts. Allow to milk to cool with the flavours infused. Once completely cooled, remove the onion with cloves and bayleaf. Make the rest of the recipe as above.
  • For a Cheese Sauce, add 1/4 cup grated tasty cheese and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese once the basic white sauce is made. Cook in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds or until all ingredients are blended.
  • For a Mustard Sauce, add 1.5-2 tablespoons prepared mustard and a dash of Worcestershire Sauce (this variation is NOT vegetarian).
  • For a Parsley Sauce, add 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped parsley to the white sauce. Cook in microwave for 1 minute longer in 30 second blasts.