Four (and a bit) Cheese Sauce

So the home made soft pretzels have been a hit in our house since they made their first appearance on the weekend we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.  Since then, I believe we have made them three or four times, with two of those being a double batch (so 24 of the things).

One afternoon, we were making them for the hubby’s folks as well as a friend of his and were wanting another dipping sauce to go with the mustard.  The hubby’s choice was a cheese sauce so I ran with it.

Using the béchamel sauce from my vegetarian lasagne as inspiration, I made my own version of a four cheese sauce with pecorino, parmesan, bocconcini and a four cheese blend of traditional mozarella, easy melt mozarella, cheddar and romano.  So it was really “four and a bit” cheese sauce in the end.  You will also need milk, flour and some butter.

Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan and when it starts to bubble, remove from the heat and whisk in the flour.  Return the pan to the heat and let the mixture bubble away, whisking briskly every 30 seconds or so.  When the mixture has become a little more pale, remove from the heat once again and stir in some of the milk until you have a smooth mixture (it will be quite lumpy at first).  Return to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk, whisking until smooth between each addition.

Once all the milk has been added, the mixture will need to bubble away to thicken slightly before the cheese is added.  After 5-10 minutes (you don’t want the sauce too thick as it thickens again when the cheese has melted and you don’t want a brick on your hands), add the cheese to the pot and stir through.  Probably best to switch to a spoon/spatula for this bit because your whisk may get a little clogged up.

Stir the sauce until all of the cheese has melted and let it continue to thicken until you are happy with the consistency and it is nice and smooth.  To finish off, you can add a touch of fresh nutmeg if you like.

Transfer the sauce to a jug or bowl to serve with some piping hot pretzels.

Print Recipe

Four (and a bit) Cheese Sauce

Adapted from Basic Béchamel Sauce from Super Food Ideas Magazine

Course

Sauce (Savoury), Sauce (Sweet)

Servings

litre

Ingredients

• 90 g butter
• 1/2 cup plain/all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• 100 g parmesan
• 60 g pecorino
• 60 g bocconcini
• 100 g four cheese blend or other cheese of your choice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg fresh
• To taste salt

Course Sauce (Savoury), Sauce (Sweet) Servings litre Ingredients 90 g butter 1/2 cup plain/all-purpose flour 4 cups milk 100 g parmesan 60 g pecorino 60 g bocconcini 100 g four cheese blend or other cheese of your choice 1/2 tsp nutmeg fresh To taste salt

Instructions

1. Over a medium heat, melt the butter in a pan until it is foaming and then add the flour.
2. Cook until the mixture is bubbling whilst stirring, will take approximately 1-2 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and gradually add the milk, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the sauce boils and thickens.
4. Add all of the cheese, nutmeg and salt to taste and continue stirring over the heat until all of the cheese melts and the sauce is to your desired consistency and smooth.
5. Serve immediately.