Bechamel (White) Sauce
This is another of the five Mother Sauces of classic cooking. It is the most basic of them, and one that almost everyone who cooks even a little is familiar with. It is the basis for all creamy sauces, and by the addition of various ingredients can go from the most elegant decadent sauce over a delicate poached salmon to a beer cheese for dipping pretzels. A bechamel can make a quick meal out of odds and ends in your fridge, or be the basis of your own home made mac and cheese.
Servings: Approximately 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 T. butter
1 T. flour
1 c. milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Chef's Tip: Additional ingredients can be Worcestershire Sauce, dry sherry or white wine, dry mustard or other prepared mustard, most especially Dijon or other flavored mustard, Tabasco or other hot sauce.
This will result in a pourable, creamy sauce that will run slowly across a plate if poured onto it. If a thicker sauce is desired, increase the butter and the flours to 2 T. each and prepare with the same method. However, remember, the sauce will thicken as it cools, and if you are planning on adding cheese, it will thicken significantly. If you do over-thicken, add more milk, 1 T. at a time, then stirring vigorously to incorporate the milk, and check the thickness, until desired consistency is achieved.
Instructions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the flour.
Stir until the butter and flour are combined and form a fairly liquid paste. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring fairly regularly and watch and adjust temperature if necessary to prevent butter from browning too much.
Add milk all at once, increase temperature to medium, and again stirring frequently to make sure the milk isn’t scorching on the bottom of the pan, cook until the mixture has come to a boil and thicken. Cook for another 2 minutes, again, adjusting temperature as necessary to avoid boiling over.
Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as any other flavoring.