The béchamel – classic recipe is the most known and widespread sauce, of French origin, called “sauce béchamel“. Used in almost all Western cuisine, it is made with very simple ingredients like flour, milk, and butter. It can be used as a binder, more fluid, or for gratin, thicker. It lends itself to different preparations, such as the cauliflower flan or the ricotta spinach and meat sauce profiteroles.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Affordable
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3.5 tbsp butter
- to taste nutmeg
- to taste fine salt
- to taste black pepper
Tools
- Kitchen Scale
- 2 Saucepans
- Knife
- Whisk
Preparation
To prepare the béchamel sauce – classic recipe, take two saucepans, in one heat the milk (do not let it boil) and in the other melt the butter over low heat, without letting it burn.
Once the butter has melted, lower the heat, add the flour (be careful not to let it turn brown), and mix with a whisk to incorporate the two ingredients well.
Remove the saucepan with the flour and butter from the heat, pour in the hot milk and continue stirring, returning everything to the heat for a few minutes to thicken the béchamel. Finally, season it with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Tip
To prevent it from becoming too “sticky”, dilute the milk with water; some also use cold milk instead of hot to eliminate this problem. The more milk you use, the more liquid it will become. It all depends on what you will use it for.
