Bechamel Sauce (recipe)
Friday, October 5th, 2001Bechamel is the primordial cream sauce, and the cornerstone of any great cook's repertoire. Being so basic, there are countless variations — there are chicken-based bechamels, Italian bechamels (besciamella), Greek versions (saltsa bechamel), and countless American twists and bastardizations. And being so basic, you'd think it's an easy sauce to make — and it is, and isn't. Making the basic bechamel is easy to get the hang of, but making a divine bechamel — one that is fragrant, rich and seductive.
I am by no means proposing that the recipe below fulfills those requirements, but it takes you on the first step — this is the basic bechamel, upon which greater and lovelier sauces may be built.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups good milk (the fresher, the better)
- about 3 or 4 tbsp butter
- about 6 tbsp fine white flour (without baking soda in it)
- dash of salt
- dash of fresh-ground pepper
- dash of fresh-ground nutmeg
rnIn a sauce pan large enough for all the ingredients, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and lightly brown, taking care not to burn it. Add the milk in a slow, steady stream, stirring vigorously and constantly to avoid lumps; if lumps form, don't panic — just stop adding milk and stir the sauce until the lumps dissolve. Once all the milk is added, keep stirring and add the cream and seasonings, then give the sauce a few vigorous whisks to make sure everything is well-combined. Cook over low to medium heat until sauce is thickened. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more milk and heat through; if the sauce is too thin, make a beurre manie by mashing together 1 tablespoon each butter and flour, or simply by rolling a tablespoon of butter in flour and tossing it in. If you have to thicken the sauce in this fashion, wait until it's almost done and remove it from heat as soon as it's thick enough; otherwise the sauce will have a pasty flour taste.
I'll post some good bechamel recipes and variations soon.
rn
