Serves: 8
Total Calories: 156

1 quart milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1 Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until small bubbles form around the edge.

2 Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir well. Cook 2 minutes.

3 Slowly begin adding the milk in a thin stream, stirring it in with a wire whisk. At first the sauce will become thick and lumpy, but it will gradually loosen up and become smooth as you stir in the remainder.

4 When all of the milk has been added, stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Raise the heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a simmer. Cook 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. This sauce can be made up to 2 days before using. Pour it into a container, place a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface and seal tightly to prevent a skin from forming, then refrigerate. Reheat over low heat before using adding a little more milk if it is too thick.

From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 8
Total Calories: 156
Calories from Fat: 98

More Recipes from the Cook'n in Italy Cookbook:
* Sauces
Abruzzo-Style Ragù
Bologna-Style Ragù
Butter and Sage Sauce
Béchamel Sauce
Duck Ragù
Fake Meat Sauce
Fontina Cheese Sauce
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Garlic Sauce
Green Sauce
Holy Oil
Marches-Style Ragù
Marinara Sauce
Molise-Style Pepper Sauce
Neapolitan Ragù
Olive Oil Mayonnaise
Olive Sauce
Orange Mayonnaise Sauce
Parsley and Egg Sauce
Pink Sauce
Pizzaiola Sauce
Porcini and Meat Ragù
Pork Ragù with Fresh Herbs
Rabbit or Chicken Ragù
Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Sausage Ragù
Sicilian Garlic and Caper Sauce
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
Tomato Sauce with Onion
Tomato Sauce, Sicilian Style
Tomato Sauce, Tuscan Style
Truffled Meat Ragù
Tuscan Meat Sauce