Moreish mornay

I've always loved the combination of fish and cheese. Some might say contentious – you won't get seafood and cheese served together in an Italian restaurant - some might say old fashioned!

My first encounter with a mornay sauce was in the 70s, working in Mayfair the “birthday treat” was to go to “Wheelers” the ultimate in fish restaurants. It was there that I first tasted cod in mornay sauce. A memorable experience.

Mornay sauce is French – usually enriched with egg yolks. My version is without the egg yolks. I realise this is not for the purists but I want a sauce that I can freeze and uncooked eggs ain't such a good idea. I have not received any complaints.

Here's it is :

Mornay Sauce

Serves 4-6

40g unsalted butter

40g plain flour

600ml of milk – I use semi skimmed

150g mature Cheddar cheese

(or a combination of Cheddar and gruyere)

salt and black pepper

½ tsp Dijon mustard - optional

Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Cook gently for a minute, stirring – make sure you don't brown the mixture. Gradually add the milk whisking constantly and eventually bring to the boil, whisking until it's smooth and thick. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the cheese, mustard and season. I'd taste before you add salt – there's salt in the cheese – adjust accordingly.

I've found two theories of origin – the first, it was named for a 17^th century French diplomat, Philippe de Mornay, seigneur du Plessis-marly. The other is that it was created by Chef Joseph Voiron of Paris, naming the sauce after his eldest son, known as Mornay.

I like useless bits of information – you never know what trivia questions are going to pop up when you're quizzing!

Moving on …