• ½ pint (300 ml/1¼ cups) milk
• a few slices of carrot
• a few slices of onion
• a small sprig of thyme
• a small sprig of parsley
• 3 peppercorns
• 1½ ozs (45 g/scant ⅓ cup) roux
• salt and freshly ground pepper

This is a marvellous quick way of making Béchamel Sauce if you already have roux made. Put the cold milk into a saucepan with the carrot, onion, peppercorns, thyme and parsley. Bring to the boil, simmer for 4–5 minutes, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for ten minutes. Strain out the vegetables, bring the milk back to the boil and thicken with roux to a light coating consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.