Ashley’s Favorite Sauces: Lightened Spring ‘Roux’

That is, not a roux at all really: but it’s a milk-based sauce I use in place of a roux when I don’t want the calories of the butter and flour, or (like today) when I just don’t want the heaviness of a traditional roux.

LIGHTENED SPRING ROUX

14oz chicken broth, bouillon, or broth base

1 1/2 cups milk, divided

2 T corn starch

Heat the chicken broth/water and bouillon/water and broth base in the microwave two minutes. (I use a four-cup glass measure.)  Add one cup milk and stir.

In a smaller measure or bowl, mix a half cup of milk with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Whisk together well. 

Pour the milk/cornstarch slurry into the four cup measure. Heat to boiling in the microwave, stirring every minute, until thickened.

Edited: Sometimes cornstarch is tricky 😊 and two tablespoons won’t do it. Start with two! If the sauce doesn’t thicken, pour about half a cup of it back into your smaller measure/bowl and whisk in another 2 T of cornstarch. Stir that back in to the larger measure, again, and stick it back in the microwave.