Master Recipe: Parmesan Cream Sauce
By
Andy Anderson !
@ThePretentiousChef
9
Every chef worth his or her salt needs a decent method for creating a creamy Parmesan sauce.
Remember: The trick to making a worthy Parmesan sauce (besides taste) is that it is thin enough to flow when drizzling over chicken or fish, yet thick enough to cling to things, like pasta.
A good Parmesan sauce forms a base for many dishes; including but not restricted to, chicken, fish, pasta, and shrimp.
So, you ready… Let’s get into the kitchen.
Remember: The trick to making a worthy Parmesan sauce (besides taste) is that it is thin enough to flow when drizzling over chicken or fish, yet thick enough to cling to things, like pasta.
A good Parmesan sauce forms a base for many dishes; including but not restricted to, chicken, fish, pasta, and shrimp.
So, you ready… Let’s get into the kitchen.
Rating:
★★★★★ 1 vote5
Comments:
Serves:
4 - 6
Prep:
10 Min
Cook:
15 Min
Method:
Stove Top
Ingredients
-
PLAN/PURCHASE
-
2 Tbspsweet butter, unsalted, i recommend clarified butter
-
2 Tbspflour, all purpose variety
-
1/2 cchicken stock, not broth
-
1 cheavy cream
-
1/4 cparmesan cheese, freshly grated
-
·white pepper, freshly ground, to taste
-
·salt, kosher variety, freshly ground, to taste
-
OPTIONAL ITEMS (MORE ON VARIATIONS LATER)
-
·skinned/seeded/chopped fresh tomatoes
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·cream cheese
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·baked garlic
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·freshly chopped herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)
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·a pinch of nutmeg during the holidays
How to Make Master Recipe: Parmesan Cream Sauce
- PREP/PREPARE
- Gather your ingredients.
- Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat.
- If you are not using clarified butter, wait until the foaming subsides.
- Add the flour.
- Whisk until completely incorporated, about 1 quick minute.
- Chef’s Note: Adding fat and flour together creates a roux. There are different stages of a roux; the longer your cook it, the browner it gets, and the nuttier it tastes. We want a light roux… no browning. So, 1 minute on the heat is about all you want.
- Slowly whisk in the chicken stock.
- Chef’s Tip: Do not use hot chicken stock, or you will get lumps in your sauce.
- Continue to whisk until completely smooth.
- Add the cream.
- Stir to incorporate, about 1 minute.
- Chef’s Note: At this point, season with salt and pepper.
- Chef’s Note: We are using white pepper, because we don’t want to see little black flakes in the sauce. In addition, white pepper is milder than black pepper, so adjust your seasoning accordingly.
- Continue to cook and stir for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the Parmesan
- Stir until incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Chef’s Note: If the sauce is too thick, add more cream or chicken stock, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Chef’s Tip: If you are making this sauce ahead of time, put a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap over the sauce while it cools to prevent a skin from forming.
- VARIATIONS ON A THEME
- FOR FISH AND CHICKEN: Add about 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme and oregano and 1 or 2 baked/mined cloves of garlic.
- A VEGGIE DIP: Use the same variations for fish and chicken, but melt about 2 ounces of cream cheese into the sauce.
- PASTA: Use the master recipe without variations over most pasta.
- PASTA VARIATION: Skin, seed, and chop one large plum tomato add a tablespoon of chopped basil, and serve over pasta.
- Chef’s Note: When I use garlic in a sauce, I like to bake the garlic first. Place the garlic cloves on a piece of parchment paper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Pull the ends of the parchment paper together and twist together, like a beggar’s pouch.
Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow it to cool. Add a few pinches of salt, and then mash into a paste with the flat side of your kitchen knife. - Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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