What I Ate: White Sauce

I made a recipe tonight that called for a bechamel sauce, also known as white sauce. Usually I hate anything made with white sauce. It is too rich for me. That and I've never been a fan of milk. I won't even eat milk in my cereal. So rarely do I make anything involving white sauce.

But this white sauce recipe substituted part of the milk with pureed parsnips. It was delicious! Not heavy at all but still rich in flavor, this was the perfect topping to the pasta dish. The parsnips added a different kind of flavor, which would be great for plain dishes, but for more complex dishes, such as lasagnas, I think substituting potato would have the same effect. Potato is a pretty mild flavor, and can take on the flavor of the milk and cheese pretty easily.

This isn't the first time I've used a root veggie puree instead of a milk product. One time I made macaroni and cheese that substituted about 2/3 of the cheese with pureed carrot. It's a great way to sneak in some vegetables while only serving one thing. I'm a big fan of serving one dish that has everything you need. HB and I are too busy to have multiple dishes a night.

I'm going to start trying to puree and add all different kinds of vegetables into my meals!