Rich, creamy, easy!
Béchamel sauce is the basic white sauce that you can transform into a luscious cheese sauce; Mornay sauce; Parsley sauce and many others. Not to mention it's used in some lasagne, in moussaka and a host of dishes.
The classic, French method is to make the roux and add the milk slowly, slowly and beware of it splitting.
This is the Italian way - add the roux to the milk. This. is. So. Simple!
INGREDIENTS
1 litre milk*
100g butter
100g flour
nutmeg
pepper
salt (if you want)
Basically, however much you need , the butter (or oil) is 10% of the milk; the flour is equal to the butter
Watch the video
METHOD
Heat the milk in a pan
Be gentle! It shouldn't boil
When it's very warm, add a good load of nutmeg and pepper
Whisk it through
In another pot, far, far away...
Melt the butter
Add the flour
Whisk like buggery
You want to incorporate all the flour into the butter, if to, it spoils the taste
Whisk till you get gloopy wallpaper paste
Chefs don't call it "gloopy wallpaper paste" - they call it a "roux"
Spoon the roux into the milk
Whisk - it might take a minute or two
If it's too thick, heat up milk in a pan and add it a little at a time
If it's too thin, make a little more roux and add that
But remember - it can take up to 5 minutes to thicken, so don't go mad with making more roux after 30 seconds!
It will freeze (best in smaller containers), or keep in tupperware in the fridge for about three days
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