KCB 11.11: Bechamel Sauce
Bechamel Sauce
In French cuisine, bechamel sauce is considered to be the mother of all sauces because it is the basic white sauce from which so many others are made. It can be used as a flowing sauce or as a base for cream soups. Fold with grated cheese to make sauce mornay; pour it onto vegetables and bake it with more grated cheese on top and you have Vegetables au gratin; add cream or sour cream and you have cream sauce or sour cream sauce; fold with parsley and lemon juice for parsley sauce; and mix with powdered mustard seeds for mustard sauce.
Bechamel sauce is based on a roux, which is a combination of melted butter and flour to which warm milk is added. This recipe makes a thin bechamel sauce. For a sauce thick enough to coat vegetables, such as in Vegetables Au Gratin, the quantities of butter and flour are doubled.
• PREPARATION & COOKING TIME: 10 minutes
• YIELD: About 2 1/2 cups (625 ml)
• YIELD: About 2 1/2 cups (625 ml)
• 2 tablespoons (40 ml) butter
• 2 tablespoons (40 ml) plain flour
• 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) very warm milk
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) white pepper
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• 2 tablespoons (40 ml) plain flour
• 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) very warm milk
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) white pepper
• pinch of nutmeg (optional)
1. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over moderate heat. Remove the pan from the heat. With a wooden spoon, add the flour to make a smooth paste. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly.
2. Return the pan to the heat and bring the sauce to the boil, still stirring. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly for 2 or 3 minutes or until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Serve immediately.
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