3/3/2 White Sauce

If you look for the classic bechamel sauce, you will usually find the 2/2/1 combination. I prefer this combination. It's lighter and less likely to glue up your dish. And unless you're cooking for 2 (with no leftovers) you'll need at least this much for any dish calling for a white sauce.

3 T. oil, butter, or a mix

3 T. flour

2 c. milk or cream

1/2 t. salt, or to taste

1/4 t. pepper (white if you don't want the black specks to show), or to taste

Heat the butter or oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk. In a microwave oven, or in a separate small pan on the stove, warm the milk. (You can skip this step if your skillet is very large, allowing the temperature of the milk to rise immediately.) Slowly whisk in the milk, raise the heat, and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Cook for 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper.

If you want to have a basic savory sauce, add a small onion with the oil and cook until the onion is clear. Proceed with recipe.