How to make béchamel sauce
Ingredients
- 100 g 4 oz butter
- 50 g 2 oz flour
- 1 liter 1 quart milk
- Salt
- Nutmeg
Instructions
- Step 1: Melt a stick of butter (100g, 4 oz.) in a saucepan, then add six spoonfuls (50g, 2 oz.) of flour and simmer the resulting roux over medium low heat for a few minutes, taking care not to allow the roux to darken, and remove from the heat.
- Step 2: In a separate saucepan, bring a liter (one quart) of milk just barely to a boil.
- Step 3: Immediately pour the milk into the pan with the roux. Taking a whisk, whip the roux and milk together vigorously, then put the saucepan back on the heat and bring it up to the boil. It will thicken considerably when it gets to the boiling point.
- Step 4: As soon as the sauce begins to boil, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, seasoning well with salt and a bit of nutmeg to taste.
Notes
Alternative method: I find the above method is practically fool-proof. But if you prefer not to dirty an extra saucepan and are fairly skilled in the kitchen, could can skip Step 2 and as for Step 3, add cold milk, not all at once, but in a thin stream, as you whisk the roux vigorously. This, in fact, is the method you will find specified in most Italian recipe books. While it is less trouble, you do need a fair degree of skill (and a strong arm) to avoid lumps.