Bread Sauce

I love bread sauce but if I hadn’t been reared on it I might never have tried it — the recipe sounds so dull.

1 pint (600ml) milk

3-4 ozs (85-100g) soft white breadcrumbs

2 onions, each stuck with 6 cloves 2ozs

(55g) butter

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3-4 fl ozs (75-100ml) thick cream

2 good pinches of ground cloves or quatre epices*

Bring all the ingredients, except the cream, to the boil in a small, deep saucepan. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and simmer gently on a very low heat or cook in a low oven 160C/325F/regulo 3, for 30 minutes. Remove the onion and add the cream just before serving. Correct the seasoning and add a little more milk if the sauce is too thick. Serve hot.

* Quatre Epices is a French spice product made of equal amounts of ground white pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.