A Simple Roux

The base to so many wonderful and thick sauces is a simple roux. As a young girl my favorite breakfast was Grandma Verna's Sausage Gravy and Biscuits with a close second being my moms Huevos Rancheros. Both of these completely different and delicious dishes have one very important thing in common, they both start with making a roux.

For those of you that are unsure what a roux is, it is a base for a sauce with roots in French cuisine that is used as a thickening agent in so many of our favorite foods. Whether you are making a delicious Italian Creamy Alfredo, a Southern Style Mac and Cheese or a good old Southwestern Green Chile Stew your base is going to be a roux. It is made simply with flour and a fat such as butter, oil or even the fat renderings of whatever yummy animal you decided cook with.

Let's start with the basics. You will need equal parts oil and flour as well as a liquid such as chicken or beef broth, wine or even milk and a whisk. Once you have the oil nice and hot you can add in your flour, I like to add it a little at a time while whisking until the flour has become a nice golden brown. Next you will lower the heat to medium and add in your liquid this amount will be dependent on how much sauce you are making but always add 1 cup at a time and whisk vigorously in order to really incorporate your liquid and get all of those pesky lumps of flour mixed in. 

Now that we have the basics down we can really start being adventurous. Why don't we try our hand at a basic but delicious Marsala Sauce. 

Ingredients

2   cups mushrooms sliced

1   medium onion chopped

6   T. butter

4   T. flour

2   T. fresh rosemary chopped

2   cups Marsala wine

2   cups chicken broth

Preheat 2 T. of the butter in a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add in the onions and cook until they are just translucent. Add in the mushrooms and allow to them to get tender. At this point you can choose to start your roux with the mushrooms and onions in the pan or remove them for ease of whisking. For the sake of learning we will remove the onions and mushrooms to a plate and add in the remaining butter. Once the butter has melted add the the rosemary and begin to add in the flour and start to whisk. Once all of the flour has been incorporated lower the heat to medium, add 1 cup of the Marsala wine and start whisking. Add the rest of your liquid 1 cup at a time and once the sauce is smooth and without lumps you can add your onion and mushroom mixture back in. Continue to stir the sauce with a wooden spoon or spatula over medium heat until it has reached your desired thickness. Remember to never leave your sauce unattended as this could result in over thickening or even burning to the bottom and sides of your pan. 

Season to taste with salt, pepper or even my secret weapon Old Bay and enjoy over a nice pork chop, chicken breast or whatever your little heart desires. I will post some recipes to go along with this delicious and easy Marsala Sauce in the future. I hope this was helpful and I will be posting a variety of roux based sauces for your enjoyment so get some practice in in the meantime. 

Food is Love and I Love Food. 

XOXO, 

Aimee