Sauce Velouté (White Sauce with Stock)

Velouté (prounounced "vuh-loo-TAY") is one of the five mother sauces of classical cuisine, which means it's a starting point from which a number of sauces can be made, rather than a finished sauce itself. Like béchamel, velouté is considered a white sauce, and both are thickened with roux. Whereas béchamel has milk as its base, velouté is made with stock. Since there are three types of white stock - chicken, veal, and fish - there are likewise three types of velouté. Use the stock that best accommodates the protein you'll be pairing it with. There are many derivative sauces (children) called small sauces which further develop the velouté to suit the dish it is being prepared for. They are; Suprême (chicken velouté), Vin Blanc (fish velouté) and Allemande (veal velouté).

6 cups chicken, veal or fish stock
2 oz butter, clarified butter or ghee
2 oz all-purpose flour, unbleached

Heat the white stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.

In a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it becomes frothy. Take care not to let it turn brown.

With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the butter, giving you a pale yellow-coloured paste. This paste is called a roux. Heat the roux for another minute or so to cook off the taste of raw flour. Since this is a white sauce, you don't want to let the roux get too dark.

Using a wire whisk, slowly add the hot white stock to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps.

Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about one-third, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan. Use a ladle to skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.

The resulting sauce should be smooth and velvety. If it's too thick, whisk in a bit more hot stock until it's just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove the sauce from the heat. For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth. Keep the velouté covered until you're ready to use it.

Makes 4 cups (1 L).