Béchamel
Béchamel is a white sauce based on flour, milk and butter. The first step is roux prepared from flour and butter, which are fried until the flour is cooked. If after tasting the roux, there is still a noticeable taste of flour in it, it means that the flour is not cooked and the roux should be cooked a little longer. Milk is added to the finished roux, not all at once but in smaller streams. It is very important to mix it constantly from the beginning, i.e. from the moment the butter is combined with the flour, until the end when seasoning the sauce. A hand whisk is best for mixing the sauce. You can also use a wooden spoon, but I personally think that a whisk allows you to almost completely get rid of lumps in the sauce.
Béchamel sauce can be used to prepare many dishes. It is perfect for lasagne, croque monsieur, all kinds of casseroles, roast meats and vegetables. Béchamel is also a base for other sauces such as mornay.
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Ingredients for bechamel.
- 500 ml milk
- 40 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g butter
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
How to make bechamel sauce.
Pour the sifted flour into a pot, add soft butter, mix and put it on heat. Stirring constantly, cook it over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the lukewarm milk in small batches with medium streams, while stirring all the time with a hand whisk. After adding all the milk, bring the sauce to boil, add salt and nutmeg and cook for 2 minutes.
Good to know when making béchamel sauce.
Apart from nutmeg, béchamel sauce can also be seasoned with white pepper and lemon juice.
Usually, after adding the first drips of milk to the roux, the ingredients thicken very quickly and turn into a large lump. Do not worry about this, it is normal. Just keep stirring the sauce and adding milk.
If there are still lumps in the sauce despite all efforts, pour the sauce through a fine strainer.
Are you looking for recipes for sauces with addition of butter? If so, try our recipe for Mushroom sauce.
