Bechamel Sauce

By mistynoelle13

This simple, white sauce forms the base of many other sauces, such as:

Cream Sauce – classic bechamel using heavy cream instead of milk
Mornay – Made by enriching a standard bechamel with gruyere and parmesan cheese
Cheddar Cheese Sauce – add cheddar cheese, mustard and Worcestershire sauce to standard bechamel sauce.

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1-2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 25mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. To make the besciamella, heat a saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour to create a roux and stir until smooth. Cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until light-golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, heat the milk to just under a boil. Once the roux has browned and the milk has heated, add the milk to the roux, about 1 cup at a time. Whisk constantly, until very smooth, bringing it back to a boil each time. Once all of the milk has been incorporated and the mixture has come back up to a gentle boil, turn the heat to low and let cook for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon, but still pour smoothly. Once done, remove from the heat and season with the salt and freshly-grated nutmeg.