Meatless White Sauce is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic vegetarian white sauce of vegetables cooked in butter that are finished with milk, thickened with flour and pureed before use. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Meatless White Sauce.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
WHITE SAUCE, made without Meat.
538. INGREDIENTS.—2 oz. of butter, 2 small onions, 1 carrot, 1/2 a small teacupful of flour, 1 pint of new milk, salt and cayenne to taste.
Mode.—Cut up the onions and carrot very small, and put them into a stewpan with the butter; simmer them till the butter is nearly dried up; then stir in the flour, and add the milk; boil the whole gently until it thickens, strain it, season with salt and cayenne, and it will be ready to serve.
Time.—1/4 hour. Average cost, 5d.
Sufficient for a pair of fowls.
Seasonable at any time.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
60g butter
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, scraped and finely chopped
70g plain flour
600ml milk
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
Method:
Combine the onions and carrot in a pan with the butter. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until almost all the liquid has evaporated away. Stir in the flour then whisk in the milk to form a smooth sauce. Bring to a boil then cook gently until the sauce thickens.
Pass through a fine-meshed sieve, season the liquid to taste and serve immediately.
