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1
Start a few hours before you mean to make up the sauce by infusing the milk.
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2
Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the cleaned parsley, bay, chopped carrot, peeled and chopped shallots, cloves and whole peppercorns to the pan.
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3
Bring the pan to a gentle simmer, turn the heat off, put the lid on and leave in a warm place for at least two hours.
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4
When you are ready to make the sauce, strain the milk into a jug and discard the bits of herb, shallot and spices.
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5
Melt the butter over a low heat in a clean, dry saucepan, and sprinkle over the flour.
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6
Stir with a whisk until the flour and melted butter are combined smoothly in a glossy paste this is your roux.
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7
Be careful not to allow the butter or flour to brown.
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8
Stirring all the time, add a small amount of milk to the roux, continuing to stir until the milk is absorbed into the roux and you have a thick, uniform mixture.
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9
Add another small amount of milk, and repeat until about half the milk is incorporated.
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10
Add the rest of the milk in larger amounts, whisking as you go, and continue to cook very gently until you have a thick and glossy sauce.
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11
When all the milk is incorporated, keep cooking for about five minutes to cook out any raw flour taste.
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12
Take a teaspoon of the sauce and taste it to adjust for the amount of salt you want.
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13
If you need to keep the finished sauce warm, you can avoid the formation of a skin on top by melting a small amount of butter, floating it on top of the sauce and stirring it in when you come to serve, or by floating a piece of cling film on the sauce.
