This is a quick and easy bechamel sauce, base for many recipes.
A bit of history:
The Béchamel sauce was used for centuries in Tuscan and Emilian cuisine and was imported in France by the cuisiniers of Marie de’ Medici second wife of King Henry IV of France. Then the sauce became a main ingredient of the French Court’s cuisine and was easily renamed from its original Italian name of “Balsamella” after the “marquis de Béchamel”. (from Wikipedia) photos by coco zordan
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Basic Bechamel Sauce (White Sauce)
cakeTags
All-purpose flour archive basic bechamel sauce bechamel sauce for making lasagne bechamel.white sauce besciamella butter classic besciamella sauce french cuisine freshly grated nutmeg italian cuisine italian sauce for oven-baked pasta milk olive oil salt sauce for oven baked pasta sauce for pasta gratin white sauce for cassarole white sauce for lasagnaThe Recipe
Prep time
5 min.
Cooking time
30 min.
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Ingredients
- 1-2 servings
butter or olive oil (or a mix of both) 60 grams (5 tbs)
all-purpose flour 60 grams
milk 2 cups 1/2
salt 1 tsp
freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 tsp (to taste)
Directions
By using vegetable broth and extra-vergin olive oil instead of milk you can make a dairy-free recipe.
In a saucepan, warm up the milk on medium heat, stirring occasionally and taking care not to let it boil. You can use the microwave if preferred. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Once melted, stir in the flour until smooth. Continue stirring as the flour cooks to a light, golden, sandy color.
Increase heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in milk until thickened by the roux. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering until the flour has softened and not longer tastes gritty, 5 to 10 minutes, then season with salt and nutmeg.
Oven Baked Penne with Mushrooms and Bechamel and Lasagne alla Bolognese
you can store it in the fridge for a couple of days, but before using it you’ll need to warm it up and maybe to add some liquid (milk or water) before using.
