You've probably had béchamel sauce before in a fancy restaurant or maybe even made it at home. It can be found in many classic French home-style dishes, such as lasagna, macaroni and cheese and quiche.
Béchamel is one of the most basic sauces for any home chef to know how to make, this classic white sauce has two main components - milk and cream. If you're not familiar with béchamel, then don't worry - it sounds complicated, but it's actually very easy to make!
What is béchamel sauce?
Béchamel sauce is a white sauce made with milk, flour and butter. It can be used with any type of pasta or rice. You can also use it on pizzas, meat dishes, baked potatoes and much more. It's very versatile and one of the most basic sauces for any home chef to know how to make.
A white sauce is a type of sauce that is not made with any type of red meat. It is made by adding butter, flour and milk. The most common type of white sauce is béchamel sauce. Béchamel sauce is a white sauce made with milk, flour and butter. The most common béchamel recipes are: Macaroni and cheese, Lasagna, Chicken or Steak Alfredo, and many others.
How to make béchamel sauce
To make béchamel sauce, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup wheat flour
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
So, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat, add the wheat flour and stir until smooth, then cook for a further 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to loosen from the pan.
As you go along, add the milk and cream and mix well. Add the salt and nutmeg and keep stirring until the sauce thickens. When it is thick and homogeneous, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Although simple, bechamel sauce can be used in many dishes, such as lasagna, chicken pie, croque-monsieur and much more, it is important to remember that bechamel sauce must be prepared in advance and should be used at room temperature, if you wish, you can add other ingredients, such as grated cheese, chopped herbs or spices
More delicious bechamel sauces
Besides, this is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many variations of bechamel sauce that you can try, and each one is delicious, here are some more delicious recipes to try:
With bread, mushrooms, spinach, artichokes, cinnamon, you can also make it with vanilla, chocolate or peaches. It's a very versatile recipe.
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