Knights in white pizza.

Cold hearted orb, that rules the night. Its passage has removed almost all tomato sauce from Gourmandistan’s sight. And before the arrival of San Marzano season we need every bit of sauce for an eggplant parmigiana we plan to have on the next family visit. But alas, a block of mozzarella was in danger of reaching the end—so we breathed deep the gathering gloom, and decided to use the cheese in a white pizza.

Actually, white pizza sauce often rivals red in Gourmandistan. While red certainly holds its own with anchovies, peppers, spicy sausages and more, white allows us to enjoy a little more delicate flavor. Though we often tart our whites up with garlic, rosemary and other bold flavors, we’ve also used it for mushrooms and other subtle foods. This time we went big, with sautéed onions and garlic, steamed and sliced new potatoes, rosemary and some of Steve’s still-amazing guanciale. That’s the kind of thing that will get you right out of your moody blues.

WHITE PIZZA SAUCE

2 TB butter
2 TB flour
1 tsp. or so chopped rosemary
1 c. milk
pinch red pepper flakes or cayenne
salt & pepper

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to make a roux.  Add rosemary and some red pepper flakes, continuing to whisk until flour is cooked off.  Add milk slowly, whisking.  Cook, whisking, until sauce thickens.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.  Sauce will thicken further as it cools.  If too thick, whisk in more milk.  Use as you would use tomato sauce on a pizza.  (Makes enough for 1 medium to large pizza.  Dough recipe here.)