A satisfying, smooth cheese sauce that relies on neither cornstarch nor eggs nor flour? Believe it. The trick is slow heating, constant stirring and a flavorful melting cheese (see below for tips on picking a cheese that will melt well but not overpower your food). This sauce is thickened by your choice of corn-free starch using a technique from a Madeleine Kamman cheddar souffle recipe. Not avoiding eggs? See the variation below that includes eggs for a richer result.
- 1/4 cup arrowroot or potato starch
- 1 1/2 cup cold milk
- 6 oz. finely grated cheese (about 1 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- In a saucepan, mix arrowroot or potato starch and milk off the heat until thoroughly combined.
- Over medium-low heat, slowly bring the milk-starch mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, continuing to stir, until thickened (about three to five minutes after mixture has come to a boil).
- Remove mixture from heat and immediately stir in cheese, nutmeg and cayenne, mixing to combine thoroughly and melt cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Cheese Sauce with Eggs: If you're not avoiding eggs, you may add one or two egg yolks at the same time you add the cheese and seasonings. This will make the sauce a bit richer and smoother (especially if you will be cooking the sauce further) but is completely optional.
Good cheeses for sauce: The simplest cheeses to melt for sauce are moderately hard cheeses with a low moisture content. These include most Swiss cheeses (including Gruyère, Emmenthaler, Jarlsberg, Comte) and Cheddar-type cheeses (including Colby and Cheshire). Fontina, Monterey Jack, Gouda (remove the wax) and Asiago also melt nicely. Blue cheeses, such as Stilton and Gorgonzola, melt well but may have a stronger taste than you'd like, depending on how you're planning to use the sauce. Finally, soft cheeses, such as Brie, Camembert, Munster and d'Affinois, can be used as melting cheeses, but they are tougher to work with. You'll need to remove their rinds and add them in spoonfuls. Hard Parmesan and Pecorino Romanos are not great cheeses for sauces unless you combine them with other cheeses.
Using cheese sauce: Cheese sauce is, of course, terrific as-is over steamed or blanched vegetables and a time-tested way to encourage kids to eat vegetables, such as cauliflower and broccoli, that they're not normally huge fans of. This sauce will also work well to make homemade macaroni and cheese (simply pour one recipe of sauce and one 8-oz. bag of macaroni, precooked to al dente, in a greased glass baking dish and cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees) or a simple vegetable or potato gratin (bake with blanched vegetables or potatoes in a casserole dish topped with bread crumbs at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly).
