Cream Sauces

Sauce à la crème in the French cuisine is a béchamel sauce with extra cream added, or with part or all of the milk substituted with heavy cream.  This is a mild-flavored —but calorie-heavy— sauce, supposedly for use with chicken or white fish. I use it on a lot more than that.

I do occasionally add extra cream to sauces, usually together with mushrooms.

2 internet pictures

Pic1: chicken à la crème
Pic2: with tomatoes added (=Aurore)

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2-3 cups:

  • 2 cups béchamel sauce
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

 

B. spinach cream sauce

2019-11-07

This would have been the French sauce à la crème by the book, were it not that I used spinach broth instead of milk, which technically makes this a velouté cream sauce. Like I mentioned elsewhere, the French classification is not very consistent.

As can be seen in Pic3, this does not have to be limited  to being mixed in with spinach. It can also be used for many other dishes.

I was amazed how white this sauce was—even before I added cream—when the spinach liquid I used for it was clearly green.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 1 quart:

  • 1 quart spinach broth
  • 1 tbsp. flour
  • 1 tbsp. oil
  • S&P
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
Pic3: spinach cream sauce

Directions

Serving suggestions:

2019-11-07

Pic4: spinach broth
Pic5: fry flour, add broth
Pic6: spinach velouté

 

Pic7: add lime juice
Pic8: add cream
Pic9: whisk & simmer

 

Pic10+11: cream sauce, spinach
Pic12: spinach with  cream sauce