Béchamel Sauce
The French mother sauce you'll use more than any other. Smooth, creamy, and ready in fifteen minutes. Once you know how to make a proper béchamel, a whole world of French cooking opens up, gratins, lasagne, croque monsieur, soufflés, and more. This is the classic all-purpose version.
Ingredients
- 50 gr unsalted butter
- 50 gr plain flour
- 500 ml whole milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg freshly grated
Equipment
- heat-resistant spatula or wooden spoon
Instructions
1. Make the roux
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Once melted and just foaming, add the flour all at once. Stir hard with a whisk or a heat-resistant spatula until you have a smooth, pale paste. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to cook out the raw flour. It should smell faintly biscuity but not brown.
2. Add the milk
- Take the pan off the heat. Add the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to work in each addition before adding more. Take your time with the first few splashes, then pour the rest more freely once it's smooth and loose.
3. Cook until thickened
- Return to medium-low heat. Whisk continuously as it heats and thickens, about 5 to 8 minutes. It's ready when it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn across leaves a clean line.
4. Season and serve
- Off the heat, season with salt, white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. Taste and adjust. Use immediately, or press clingfilm onto the surface to stop a skin forming
Notes
- White pepper keeps the sauce visually clean; black works but leaves specks visually.
- Warm the milk first if you can as cold milk into a hot roux is the main cause of lumps.
- Whisk constantly and don't walk away. It catches on the base quickly once it thickens.
- Nutmeg isn't optional the French way. And freshly grated has far more flavour than pre-ground.
- Lumpy? Don't panic. Whisk hard off the heat, or pass through a fine sieve.
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge with clingfilm on the surface. Reheat gently, whisking in a splash of milk to loosen.