The Startup Cook – White Pasta Sauce 

Pasta being a staple in my house has led me to experiment with various kinds of sauces. Now personally, I prefer a good tomato based pesto with a sufficient amount of paprika to keep my taste buds alert. Which is why a white sauce is an only an option when we dine out.

However due to a very specific request I had no choice but to not make the usual pasta sauce. My pick with a white sauce is that it’s not spicy! And therefore ends up tasting bland. Thus remedying this fundamental flaw, I have developed a very simple recipe that requires the usual pasta based spices and a minimal amount of your time.

It’s creamy almost cheesy like in taste, absolutely delicious – even if I do say so myself.

Ingredients 

250g of minced chicken
80 g of parsley
2 cups of milk
5 tbs of butter
5 tbs of flour
1 tsp of olive oil
5 spring onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 lime
Paprika
Sage
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Directions 

Wash the chicken and place it in a bowl.

Juice the lime over the chicken, add two teaspoons of paprika, oregano, one teaspoon of pepper, half a teaspon of salt and sage to it and leave it to marinade.

Wash, fine dice the spring onions and parsley and set it aside.

Peel and mince the garlic.

Pour the oil in to saucepan, add the garlic to it and fry on a medium high flame.

Then add the chopped spring onions to it and sauté for few seconds.

Dump the minced chicken in to the sauté, add a teaspoon of paprika, pepper and half a teaspoon of salt and cook on a low flame for ten minutes.

Once the chicken has cooked take it out off the flame and set it aside to cool.

Add the butter to a saucepan and melt it on a low flame.

Then add the flour to it and stir until a thick paste has formed.

While whisking, carefully pour the milk in to the pan.

Add two teaspoons of oregano, one teaspoon of pepper, half teaspoon of sage and salt.

Briskly whisk the sauce until it starts to thicken up.

Once the sauce has somewhat thickened, add the chicken and chopped parsley to it.

Cook on a low flame for a few minutes and then take it off the heat.

Serve with pasta.

Disasters, Warnings and Tips 

I love this sauce. Absolutely LOVE.

Serve your pasta with some garlic bread.

Whisking is a vital part of making a Bechamel Sauce.

Ranil Wickremesinghe is Prime Minister – Yay!

The milk generally washes away all the spices.

Feel free to decrease or increase the spices as you see fit.

Use the same pan you first cooked the chicken in to make the Bechamel sauce.

By Shazzana Hamid