The Easy Cheese Sauce

This cheese sauce is the perfect accompaniment or base to many other dishes such as Cauliflower Cheese, Lasagne, Moussaka, or even a pasta bake and is quite easy to make provided you have a steady hand and keep stirring throughout, so preparation is the key.

Ingredients

• 50g Butter
• 3 tbsp Plain flour
• 750ml Semi-skimmed milk
• 250g Grated mature cheddar cheese

The basis of this cheese is a bechamel sauce and it is quite easy to make provided the sauce is stirred with a whisk constantly and quickly as it is being made. If not it runs the risk of splitting and curdling, which will spoil it completely, so stirring well is the only secret to it.

To begin with melt the butter in a pan on a gentle heat, and once molten, add the flour to form a paste. When all the molten butter has been absorbed, start adding the cold milk in small spurts. At first it may be a bit lumpy but it should all soon dissolve and then continue adding the milk until all of it is used up. Continue stirring and add the grated cheese bit by bit until it has all dissolved and no more can be seen while being stirred. The sauce will be runny but should thicken all of a sudden. This is your cue that the sauce is done! Leave on the fire until it starts to boil for a few seconds and remove from the stove.

Season with salt and white pepper to taste and it is ready to use!