White Sauce Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 cup (100 grams) pasta (penne or macaroni)
• 1½ cup milk (full fat or plant milk)10 g / 1½ tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons butter + ½ tablespoon oil or butter (to sauté veggies)
• ¼ cup heavy cream or 2 to 3 tablespoons cheese (optional, parmesan, cream cheese, mozzarella or cheddar)
• 1½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (crushed or ground, adjust to taste)
• 2 garlic cloves grated (optional, can use 1 teaspoon to tablespoon as per preference)
• ½ teaspoon oregano (or dried mix Italian herbs)
• salt as needed
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional, adjust to taste)
• I also use 1 to 1¼ cup mixed vegetables. You are free to use what you want or simply leave them out. I use ¼ cup each of carrots, broccoli or peas, sweet corn and bell peppers (a mix of green and red bell peppers).

Method

Boil the pasta

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Add pasta and ¼ teaspoon salt.
2. Cook on a medium high flame till al dente. Check the instructions on the pasta package for the correct cook time. Check them a minute earlier than mentioned on the package. They must be tender, firm and chewy but not mushy. Mine takes about 9 mins.
3. Reserve about ¼ cup pasta cooked stock.
4. Drain the pasta to a colander. Cover and keep aside.
5. Pour ½ tbsp oil or butter to a pan. Add the vegetables and sauté them on a medium high heat until slightly tender yet crunchy. This takes me about 5 to 6 mins. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Make the white sauce pasta

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add minced garlic (optional) and fry for 30 to 40 seconds on a medium heat.
2. Stir in all-purpose flour.
3. Saute well until the flour loses the raw smell, for about a minute. Don’t brown the flour. Since this is a small quantity, the roux can become dry and clumpy. It’s just fine. Turn off the stove/heat and slowly pour ½ cup milk while you stir to incorporate the milk into the roux.
4. Keep whisking till it looks creamy & uniform to prevent forming lumps. Pour the rest of the milk and stir well.
5. Turn on the heat and cook on a medium-low until the white sauce becomes thick. Keep stirring/whisking & scrape the sides for a uniform sauce through out.
6. Pour the heavy cream or cheese and mix well.
7. The white sauce is done perfectly when it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Alternately you can draw a finger/line through the coated spoon. The sauce should wipe clean and leave a space, meaning it is thick enough.
8. Add the vegetables and the cooked pasta & mix well.
9. Add pepper, oregano (or mixed Italian herbs) and chili flakes. You can also add a pinch of ground nutmeg if you want. If the sauce looks too thick (as it cools down), add 2 tbsps of the reserved stock so the sauce loosens a bit.
10. Garnish white sauce pasta with red chilli flakes and crushed black pepper. Serve it hot or warm as the sauce thickens more when it cools down.