This is one of the base sauces of any good kitchen, béchamel or White sauce. From this sauce you can make cheese sauce, parsley sauce, mustard sauce and many others.
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Heat the milk in a saucepan.
Add an 'onignon cloutee' (peeled onion with a bayleaf pinned to it with a clove).
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Mix in the flour.
Mix the butter and flour together to form a 'roux'.
Gradually add the milk to the roux allowing the milk to mix in well after each addition.
Blend to a sauce that should coat the back of a spoon.
Pass the sauce through a sieve.
Make sure you use all the sauce.
Return to the heat and season with salt and pepper.
The finished sauce. Add chopped parsley to make parsley sauce or grated cheese and a teaspoon of English mustard to make cheese sauce.
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