Béchamel Sauce Recipe

The béchamel recipe is one of the mother sauces, used for the preparation of other sauces. The béchamel recipe calls for the use of milk, butter, flour and nutmeg as ingredients. In Italian cuisine, béchamel is mainly used for the preparation of lasagna. But it is also excellent for the preparation of savory pies, gratin vegetables, etc.

Origins of Bechamel

béchamel recipe

The origins of bechamel are not yet very clear.

According to French culture, the inventor was the Marquis Louis de Bechamel, from whom he should have inherited the name. In the 17th century he was the first to use bechamel in his recipes.

According to Italian culture, however, the origin of the bechamel recipe is Tuscan. In Italy it was called glue sauce, precisely because of its use in the kitchen as a binder for many other preparations; according to Italian culture, this sauce arrived in France thanks to the queen consort Caterina de Medici.

Béchamel Recipe

Procedure béchamel recipe :

Melt the butter in a saucepan, preferably non-stick, immediately add the freshly grated nutmeg, this is very important because if it is added afterwards, lumps will form.
Now add the flour and salt and mix with a whisk for about 3-4 minutes, the flame must be low and the mixture must take on a nice colour. hazelnut.
At this point add, a little at a time, the milk at room temperature.
Stir with the whisk over low heat until the sauce has thickened; continue to cook it for about 10 minutes.

Useful tips for preparation

béchamel recipe

Its density is determined by the amount of butter and flour used in the preparation of the roux. The roux is nothing more than the mix of flour and butter cooked until golden, to which hot or cold milk is added, depending on the way used to prepare the dough. Another element that should not be underestimated for the density of the sauce is the cooking time.

1. Butter and flour must have the same weight.

2. You need to use a pan with fairly high sides. Better if non-stick.

3. Melt the butter over medium heat and then, if it is not clarified, wait until the bubbles reduce, i.e. until the water has evaporated.

4. The flour should be added all at once and mixed quickly with a hand whisk.

5. Stir until the mixture becomes liquid and without lumps.

6. To prepare the béchamel, milk must be added to the roux. It must be cold and must be added in one go and mixed quickly.

7. Cook everything, stirring, until you reach a fairly thick consistency. Then reduce the heat to low and cover for five minutes. The béchamel is ready when you glaze the spoon.

8. At the end of cooking, add a pinch of salt.

How to store Bechamel

béchamel recipe

When it cools, the béchamel automatically forms a skin on the surface. To prevent this from happening, cover it with cling film so that it adheres well to the cream.

You can store the béchamel sauce in the fridge for 2-3 days (but wait until it becomes cold first!) or freeze it.When you want to use the frozen one, heat it in a saucepan over a low heat with very little milk.

How to recover Bechamel

The first is, naturally, the formation of lumps: if they are few, you can recover the sauce by passing it through a sieve; if they are numerous, you can try to dissolve them with a few shots of the immersion mixer, quickly and at a not too high speed.

If it is sticky (you can smell it from the aroma it releases), in addition to lowering the heat further, stop scraping the bottom.
As soon as the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and transfer it into a container, avoiding pouring the last two fingers, which retain more of the burnt flavour.

If you need to let it cool, cover it with cling film or baking paper in contact with. Or, while still hot, "polish" it by passing a knob of butter over it which will melt forming a thin protective layer.
Otherwise, it will form a skin on the surface: do not break it and do not mix it with the rest of the sauce (it would split in lumps), but lift it and discard it.

Variations of Bechamel

béchamel recipe

Without butter: obtained by replacing the butter with an equal dose of extra virgin olive or seed oil.

Vegan: instead of butter opt for extra virgin olive oil, and instead of milk choose vegetable broth.

With Saffron: melt the butter to make the roux and, before incorporating the flour and proceeding as per the classic recipe, add the saffron to the butter and mix well: the butter fat will convey the aroma of the spice.

Mornay sauce: prepare 500 g of béchamel sauce and, while it is still hot – or leaving it on the heat at minimum – add 2 very fresh egg yolks and one at a time, 50 g of gruyère cheese and 30 g of fresh liquid cream.

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