Rebonjour la France: nous sommes de retour! We are back in France now – the country with a long history and cultural heritage, which has found its reflection in the local cuisine. French culinary traditions are well known all over the world. The quality of French wines, cheeses and patisserie is appreciated by very sophisticated connoisseurs.
However, abundance of delicious cheese and bread makes France a difficult place to be for someone with compromised immunity. The good news is that I do not feel seduced by bread any more. Besides, I noticed that one of the weird symptoms I have vis-a-vis au gluten-based bread is cough! Whenever I find myself in the proximity of bread I have a tendency to cough, which is weird… Besides, I find a smell of bread too strong and sort of sickening. I presume that these symptoms are more of a psychological nature, though you never know! Anyhow, I am back in France for the time being and this is one of the issues I will have to deal with…
Upon my return to France I naturally started to cook more traditional dishes, although I’ve already adapted a number of my favorite recipes during my last stay in Canada. This French sauce Béchamel is one of the staples I’ve added to my allergy-free menu. With its neutral taste, Béchamel is one of the mostly used sauces in French cuisine. It is excellent with many dishes, including vegetables, fish and chicken. To make this sauce I used palm shortening and cassava flour to form the roux. Roux is a flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. While working on the sauce I had to tweak quantities of the ingredients for a while in order to get the proportions right. Please also note that in this recipe you will have to use a very cold coconut milk, otherwise the sauce will not thicken enough.
Oh, and by the way, in addition to my recent news associated with the move, I have a couple of other news to share. First of, I finally got ahold of Instagram and started sharing my images here, which is really fun! I’ve also created the very first hashtag #zestypaleo !
Another very exciting news I would like to share with you is the upcoming release of the AIP Instant Pot cookbook, which will be available in just a few days, on October 1st! This cookbook is deliciously amazing! 🙂 I will let you more about the book and how you can get it on its release day, so stay tuned for more details.
- 1 full tablespoon palm shortening
- 1 tablespoon cassava flour
- 1¼ cup very cold coconut milk
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon ground mace*
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon ground ginger**
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- In a medium-size saucepan melt the shortening over medium-low heat.
- Stir in the cassava flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring from time to time, don't let it brown!
- Increase the heat to medium and gradually add the cold coconut milk while whisking and simmer for 3 minutes, while continuously whisking. Et voilà, French sauce Béchamel is ready!
- Season it with the mace, ginger and salt.
- Let the sauce cool*** and serve as a condiment!
**Feel free to use black pepper if not on the strict AIP.
***To preserve this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper in order to prevent a skin from forming.
Maria is the blogger behind the Zesty Paleo website. As a Hashimoto's patient for more than a decade, Maria has constantly been taking steps to improve her quality of life, including nutrition and lifestyle choices.
Me too would cough all night long if I eat gluten. I live in Egypt and can’t find palm shortening. Can is sub with coconut oil?
I cannot even imagine that would happen if I eat gluten, because I feel very sick even if I am accidentally exposed to the traces of it. You can use coconut oil to make the roux, though the flavor will be slightly different. I suggest refined coconut oil because it has a neutral scent and flavor.
Hi, I wasnt sure if anyone ever replied to your question. I can see no reason why coconut oil wouldn’t work. I use ghee to make mine, it adds a richness to it. Much peace n love n luck, Kari
This is great! Thank you. Can you suggest some ways this could be used, particularly savory ideas?
You can use this sauce in so many recipes! For example, you can add it to your gratins, lasagna, fish or chicken pies or use it instead of cream to thicken your soup! Besides, this base sauce is used to make many other sauces, such as Mornay sauce or Nantua sauce among many others.
I’m allergic to cassava. What can I use instead?
I think that arrowroot flour should do the trick.
Did you use refrigerated coconut milk beverage?
Can I used canned full fat coconut milk?
Yes, I used refrigerated coconut milk in this recipe. I not sure how canned coconut milk will come out. If I had to do it, I would run the milk in a blender before adding it to the recipe.
I make this weekly and have always used canned full-fat coconut milk. I just keep a can in the frig all the time so it will be cold when I need it. I didn’t think to blend it first, but it’s never been a problem. The chunks melt, so no worries. I just stir. Great recipe!
Thanks for your feedback, Ardi!
Finally a cream sauce that I can eat! I used canned coconut milk, and it turned out great! So creamy and savory.
Thanks for your feedback, Lindsay: I am glad you liked it:)
Hi. I don’t like coconut milk. Can I substitute it with rice milk?
Any tips for thickening the sauce, to be used in a moussaka….