Mornay Sauce

Ingredients

• 600 ml fresh whole milk
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 50 g T45 wheat flour
• 2 pieces fresh egg yolks
• 100 g grated French Gruyère
• 3 g fine salt
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1 pinch whole nutmeg

Method

1. Set up your workstation: finely grate the cheese if needed, separate the egg yolks, and keep the milk close at hand. Once the roux is started, a successful Mornay sauce should be made without pausing.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. It should foam gently, become fluid, and smell of fresh butter without taking on a nutty brown color.
3. Add the flour all at once and whisk or stir with a spatula. Cook the white roux over low heat until it forms a smooth, even, slightly foamy paste with the smell of very pale biscuits but no browning.
4. Gradually pour the milk over the roux, whisking constantly. Start with a small amount to loosen the paste, whisk until the lumps disappear, then continue with the rest of the milk. The base must be smooth before it comes back to a boil.
5. Cook the béchamel over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, especially in the corners of the saucepan. When it simmers with small, thick bubbles and clearly coats the back of a spoon, continue cooking for a few more minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
6. Season with the salt, white pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Taste: the sauce should be mild, milky, and gently seasoned, without the nutmeg taking over.
7. Lower the heat to its minimum, then stir in the grated cheese in several additions. The sauce should become glossy and slightly stretchy without boiling hard; if it boils too much, the cheese may release fat and lose its smooth melt.
8. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Loosen the egg yolks in a small bowl with a spoonful of hot sauce taken from the saucepan, whisking immediately to temper them.
9. Whisk the tempered yolks into the sauce off the heat immediately. Return it to very low heat for only a few moments if necessary, never allowing it to boil: the sauce should thicken slightly, remain smooth, and coat the food in a satiny layer.
10. Pass the sauce through a fine chinois if a perfectly classic restaurant texture is desired. Use it at once to coat eggs, cooked vegetables, or a gratin, or keep it warm in a bain-marie with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

367.6 kcal

Protein

16.58 g

Carbohydrate

16.64 g

Fat

26.41 g

Fibre

0.43 g

Calcium

437.96 mg

Iron

0.5 mg

Magnesium

32.87 mg