Synopsis: Today we made bechamel sauce, one of the French “mother sauces”. You also might know it as simply “white sauce”. By itself it’s not too impressive, but the interesting variations you can make from it are endless. Try adding different cheeses and spice blends, pour in some wine or even some mustard! You can go in all sorts of directions with this.
The base recipe is extremely simple. You need some blond roux (not browned at all, just melted and mixed), and you need some scalded milk. That’s it. Mix, and strain if needed.
The recipe below is exactly how we made it today. It’s a more classical style of preparation, but this does not necessarily make it better. Honestly, it would be loads better with the addition of some cheese or good wine. The finished product from this recipe was just… doughy milk sauce. It could be a great starting point for something, but I wouldn’t be satisfied with it as a finished product. Let me know what y’all come up with!
Recipe: Bechamel Sauce
- Milk (can use cream or half and half instead)
- Flour
- Butter
- Nutmeg
- Onion
- Whole cloves
- Salt
Begin warming the milk to scald. (Just before boiling). Peel the onion and stick a few whole cloves into it. (This step was classically used but really doesn’t add a whole lot to the sauce). Melt the butter on low heat – you don’t want it to brown at all, just melt. Now add enough flour to get a “wet sand” consistency and mix well. Add the scalded milk to the roux (flour and butter mixture) and whisk well. Add the cloved onion and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally for about 20-30 minutes. The sauce should have thickened up nicely when you mixed the roux and milk together. Add more milk if it thickened too much, and if it’s too thin you can simply cook longer to reduce, or prepare some more roux to add. You’re going for a reasonably thick sauce, but exactly how thick is a matter of preference and final use of the sauce. Add salt and nutmeg to taste. Strain to remove any lumps. The Bechamel is complete!