No-fail low-fat white sauce

      White sauce....also known as béchamel sauce. It is a versatile sauce that every cook should know because it can be used in a multitude of recipes. It can be used for lasagnes, pastas, pies and for mac & cheese. Normally, you make roux using butter and flour to act as a thickener for the scalded milk. The roux should be equal proportions of plain flour and butter by weight. Normally you would melt the butter in a pan without letting it brown then mix in the flour till you get a paste. Then you would whisk milk into the flour paste.
      I used to be alright at making a white sauce, until I moved to the Netherlands. For some bizarre reason, I could never get a traditional white sauce right again. It always turned out lumpy, runny or just plain gross. Maybe it's the flour here. Maybe I never used the right amount of butter. Maybe it was just me. I got tired of trying. Then I discovered a different way to make a white sauce which, although thinner on flavour, is a lot quicker and never fails me.
   
      This method uses no butter at all and cornflour. It is lower in fat than a traditional béchamel sauce recipe (and maybe even gluten free)! No butter needed!
       This sauce can be used for lasagnes, mac & cheese, as a base for a lovely mushroom sauce, as a savoury pie filling etc....

Easy white sauce

makes a little less than 2 cups of sauce

2 cups semi-skimmed milk

1 bay leaf

1/8 stock cube

1 heaped TBSP cornflour

salt & pepper

1. Put the milk into a saucepan. 

2. Take out 2 tablespoons of the milk and put in a small bowl/ramekin.

3. Add the bay leaf to the milk in the saucepan and heat over a low flame.

4. Mix the cornflour into the remaining milk in the small bowl and mix to form a thin paste.

5. When the milk in the saucepan is hot, add the stock cube and stir to dissolve. 

6. Just when the milk starts to boil, remove the bay leaf and pour in the cornflour mixture.

7. Stir gently. Soon the sauce should start to bubble up and thicken. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 1 minute. 

*If the sauce is too thin for your liking, dissolve another 1/2 TBSP cornflour in 1/2 TBSP of room-temperature water and stir into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer for 1 minute.

9. Add salt/pepper and that's it! Done!

Cheese sauce

1 quantity white sauce

1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese

a little mustard powder (optional)

1. Simply stir the grated cheese and mustard powder into the sauce while it is simmering for the last 1 minute.

*Use more or less cheese, if that's what you like.

Gnocchi from scratch

      I was showing my husband a vegetarian recipe book a week ago and pointed out a recipe that used gnocchi. He asked me what 'gnocchi' is and I told him it's a pasta made from potatoes and that I've tried it but didn't like it. 

That got me started on looking for a decent recipe for gnocchi. I found many. Some had egg added, some didn't. Apparently, traditional Italian grandmothers would make it without egg. After reading this, I decided to try making gnocchi without eggs.

      It was easy enough, but I won't hide the fact that it is quite time consuming. It is something that is probably best made on a weekend, in a double batch or more, and frozen for convenience. I simplified the method and the shaping process. The gnocchi turned out firm, with a nice bite and did not taste weird. Whether they turned out 'authentic' or not, I wouldn't know because it is not something I have eaten enough to compare. But it works for everyday Jills and Joes who just want decent homecooked meals.

So, here is my simplified recipe for gnocchi:

Serves 4 (I froze half the batch)

350g potatoes, peeled & washed

150 -170g plain flour (possibly more for flouring)

Salt & pepper

Two baking trays and baking paper

• Cut potatoes into chunks and put in a pot. Cover with cold water bring to a boil. Boiling them in cold water gives a better texture. Boil till potatoes just break apart when you put a fork through them.

• Drain and mash the potatoes as smoothly as you can. You don't want any noticeable lumps. NO MILK/BUTTER!

• Leave the mashed potatoes to cool to room temperature.

• Measure your flour in a bowl and prepare your work surface. 

• When mashed potatoes are cool, slowly add flour and mix with a spoon. You want a soft dough that is very slightly sticky. You will probably have to use your hands to mix the dough towards the end.

   * I was lazy and mixed the flour into the pot of mashed potatoes instead of using a bowl

• Now that you have your dough ready, it is time to flour your hands and your work surface.

• This is the fun part: Divide the dough into eighths and roll each portion on your floured surface until you get snake-like logs. Each log should be about 1.5cm thick (thinner if you want tiny gnocchi)

• Now use a non-serrated knife (butter knife is good) to cut pieces off the logs of dough. Each piece should be about 1.5cm wide.

• Use the knife to make a 'cross' or 'plus' design on each piece. You can skip this step. The grooves are supposed to help the gnocchi hold some sauce. This obviously isn't the traditional gnocchi shape. I tried doing that with a fork and became frustrated! This way is easier!

• The gnocchi is now ready to be boiled! (For freezing directions, scroll down) 

• Put a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Drop the gnocchi, in batches unless you have a wide pot,  into the simmering water. The gnocchi should float to the surface after a few minutes. Leave them to cook for about 2 extra minutes after they float. Then remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and continue with the rest.

•Toss in a simple pasta sauce. Remember, I said 'toss' not 'drown'! Pictured here is a tomato, mushroom, sausage and rocket sauce. 

• FREEZE: Put half of your gnocchi on a tray covered with floured baking paper. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer and put the tray in the freezer. Once the gnocchi are frozen, you can transfer them to a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 6 weeks.

• MAKE AHEAD: You can make this ahead up to a few hours before cooking. But beware, the gnocchi could get stuck on the tray. Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a very well floured tray and put the tray in the fridge until you are ready to cook. By the way, I don't particularly recommend doing this.