Saffron béchamel, the quick and easy sauce to make delicious lasagnas and baked pastas, also useful to accompany original, elegant and tasty meat main courses. We all know béchamel, sometimes we even make it in the microwave, but have you ever tried flavoring it with saffron? A few days ago I needed béchamel to prepare a white baked pasta with ham and cheese, and when it was ready I spotted the saffron sachets, so on impulse I added that little colored powder to my béchamel and the result was astonishing!! Don’t believe me? Follow me in the kitchen — I’m sure the goodness of saffron béchamel will win you over too. Before heading to the kitchen, as always I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).

Also take a look:

Baked saffron rice with ham and cheese

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Budget-friendly
Preparation time: 5 Minutes
Portions: 1 quart (about 4 1/4 cups)
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups milk
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) butter
tsp (0.6 g) saffron
to taste salt
to taste black pepper
3/8 cup (about 6 tbsp) all-purpose flour

Tools

Pot
Whisk
Stove

Preparation

To make saffron béchamel, gently melt the butter in a pan and add the flour; let it lightly brown. Then begin to pour the milk little by little, stirring quickly to dissolve any lumps that tend to form.
After you’ve finished adding the milk, continue cooking until the béchamel sauce thickens (it should be smooth and not too dense). Remove from the heat, adjust salt and pepper, and add the saffron. Stir to dissolve it and incorporate it thoroughly.
The saffron béchamel is now ready to use. Once cooled it may become too thick for your needs; in that case, thin it with a little milk. If you need it firmer, dissolve a little flour in a small amount of water, add to the mixture and return to the stove until it thickens again.