Parsonby rarebit with Allendale ale (serves 2-4)

1 tablespoon plain flour

1 tablespoon butter

150ml milk (you may use less, as the sauce needs to be thick)

175g Wardhall Parsonby cheese (or cheddar), grated

150ml Allendale (or other) bitter

1 teaspoon English mustard (or ½ teaspoon mustard powder)

2 egg yolks

Salt and pepper

4 slices toasted Chrirnells (or other) bread

Toast your bread, and leave it to cool. Reduce the beer and mustard until sticky.

Make a thick white sauce with the flour, butter and milk, and stir in the cheese. Leave to cool.

Add the reduced beer to the sauce.

Stir in the egg yolks, and season to taste.

Spoon/spread onto the toast, and grill until bubbling and golden brown.

White sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

300ml milk

½ teaspoon salt (miss this out if it’s a sweet sauce)

This is a foolproof method. Melt the butter over a medium heat. As soon as it sizzles, add the flour (and salt) and stir with a little whisk. Fry gently for 2 minutes, stirring. Add all the cold milk at once. Continue stirring with the whisk until it thickens. Add a little more milk if you want the sauce thinner.

This is what’s known as béchamel sauce.

To this basic sauce you can add:

·         Cheese (for cauliflower cheese etc.)

·         Chopped parsley (to serve with fish or ham)

·         A teaspoon or two of mustard (to serve with chicken or roast meat)

·         Brandy (to a sweet version, for your Christmas pud)

If you’re making a soufflé, let the basic savoury sauce cool a bit, then stir in 2 egg yolks. This will help the soufflé to stay ‘up’.