My background in clinical nutrition also included a vein of creating care plans and menus for patients, and hands on cooking for thousands, all with a vast array of diet needs. I became really versed in creating yummy things with a very high nutritive content in a very small amount. Someone could live forever on just a smidge a day of the intensely rich mashed potatoes I would make for many of my underweight patients. Just looking at the steaming pot of "super cereal" would make one gain a full pant size immediately. Don't even get me started on what I would do with pudding, sauces and gravies. It was all about replenishment, healing, high calorie weight gain and rehabilitating the body to a healthy place from a depleted state. Now I work in the vein of fat loss, lean muscle building, reigniting the metabolism and nourishing the body from a cellular level, replenishing and revitalizing the body with what it needs and eliminating what it doesn't for optimum health.
Okay, now a roux, (pronounced "roou") is a cooked mixture of wheat flour and fat, traditionally clarified butter. It is the thickening agent for gravies, sauces, soups and stews. And boy does it make them taste good! I am quite the roux queen. BUT, a roux does add a large amount of calories, carbs and fat, and for those who needed to be wheat/gluten free, or on a low fat or cardiac diet, a different way was needed. Historically, I would use cornstarch when preparing a sauce or such for those patients. Cornstarch has it's place in cooking many things, but a cornstarch gravy made with no cream and only beef broth/base/drippings and herbs ladled over potatoes still reminds me of melted brown Vaseline with herbs in it - {shudder}. For those who were on a no dairy, gluten free, low salt and low fat diet, it was almost like a "no flavor" diet, so I had to be very creative to make it appetizing.
So, okay. I love to make this delicious sauce. I toss it with whole wheat pasta for a yummy homemade mac and cheese. I fold it with tender beef cubes for a Stroganoff. I use it over my signature Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict or roasted asparagus as a mock Hollandaise sauce. I love it drizzled over chicken. The best part is it is protein rich, with no wheat flour. The fat content varies on what you do with it. It is easy, dresses up an entree' nicely, and any extra is freezable.
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{STEP 1}
Use 2 Tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil, unsalted butter or Smart Balance Omega-3 Spread, melted on low heat in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup fat free sour cream and blend with small whisk. Blend in 1/2 cup half and half. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. {NOTE: If using for a chicken, fish or egg dish, squeezing a half a lemon into the sauce is yummy. I use an organic chicken base paste as well. If for a beef recipe like Stroganoff, add 1-2 tbsp organic beef base paste to taste.}
This kind is great and lasts forever!
{Step 2}
Now to thicken: Low fat, high protein CHEESE! Blend in 1 cup of low-fat shredded mozzarella/cheddar (MoCheddar) or Monterey/pepper jack cheese or an Italian blend of Romano, Asagio and Parmesan into the sauce with the wisk until smooth and thickened. Depending on your recipe, you create the flavor you want with the cheese inclusion you pick. It makes about 2 cups of sauce, and as 1-2 tsp is plenty over an entree serving, you will have more than enough to use in a variety of delicious future uses!
{IDEAS}
Adding 1 Tbsp of Dijon mustard and 1 tsp of dried chives is great for over fish or eggs. Add 1 tsp dried tarragon and extra lemon juice for a yummy sauce for over chicken. Adding crumbled bacon and chopped spinach is a yummy drizzle over filet mignon or eggs atop sliced tomatoes. Folding in sauteed mushrooms, onions and tender beef cubes to the beef/cheese sauce makes a great Stroganoff over spaghetti squash, quinoa, brown rice or whole wheat pasta.
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