Home | Directory | Contact | FAQ | Recipes | Restaurants | Vietnamese Recipes | 100 Vietnamese Foods | Subscribe

Monday, October 13, 2008

How to Make Bechamel Sauce

A bechamel sauce is a basic white sauce of milk, flour, and butter. It serves as the basis or topping for such dishes as lasagna, moussaka, or Pastitsio (Greek "Lasagna").

How to Make Bechamel Sauce 1

Obviously, you'll want to make adjustments according to how thick you want your sauce to be. I usually just start it on the stove while I'm making the rest of the recipe and let it cool down before I layer it with my pastas.

How to Make Bechamel Sauce

For enough sauce for a 9-by-14-inch pan, you'll need:
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
3 cups milk
1/4 cup flour, or more if needed to thicken
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Melt 1 stick of butter in a pot on medium-low heat. You want to keep the heat low so the milk doesn't boil.

How to Make Bechamel Sauce 2

When the butter is half-melted, add 1/4 cup flour and stir.

How to Make Bechamel Sauce 3

You've now got a roux. Don't worry if it's a bit brown, adding the milk will turn it white. When the butter has melted and the flour has thickened the sauce, add 3 cups milk.

How to Make Bechamel Sauce 4

Let the mixture simmer on the stove at medium-low to low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened to your liking. Add more flour if needed.

How to Make Bechamel Sauce 1

Add 1 tsp ground nutmeg. Stir. Turn off the heat and let it rest.

What can you make with bechamel sauce?
Pastitsio (Greek "Lasagna")
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

*****
1 year ago today, Fessenjan (Persian Walnut-Pomegranate Glaze) with Roast Duck.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, I never knew bechamel was so simple. I've always avoided sauces because I thought they were more complicated than this. Thanks for opening my eyes

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your recipe is very simple. Other times I've made bechamel, the recipes require me to stir things in slowly...

    Once, I made cannelloni and my partner found a huge green tree frog on our verandah. He yelled at me to come look at it, and I had to decline because I did not want to ruin the bechamel sauce, and hence the cannelloni.

    mmm, pasta bakes ...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aaron,
    Well, some sauces are more complicated. I haven't attempted Hollandaise, but bechamel is one of the easiest sauces to make.

    Oanh,
    Keep the heat on low and you don't have to do so much stirring. It'll thicken on its own.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by. I try to respond in a timely manner, but am not always able to do so. If you're awaiting a response, check the post in which the comment is made or click the "Notify me" option.

If you're not a blogger and you'd like to leave a comment, you can do so using your Google/Gmail account.

I welcome questions, discussions, and feedback, but please be mindful that this is my home online. I reserve the right to delete any comment that is anonymous or unknown, rude, promotional, or has a link.

Thank you for reading!