Sauces are one of the foundations of great cooking. Take almost any food, whip up a sauce for it and lo and behold, it becomes something truly extraordinary. Everyone should learn how to make basic sauces. And a very popular mother sauce in French and Italian cooking. It’s a perfect DIY food, too, one that you make exactly to your liking with additions galore. So grab your butter, flour, and milk, because today, we’re talking about DIY béchamel sauce.
What’s in it?
Butter, flour and milk. What’s more important than what’s in it is what you can use it for. Béchamel is a great thickener for pasta dishes like macaroni and cheese (seriously, do it. It will change how you view mac and cheese foooorrrrreeeevvvveeeerrrrrrr). You can use it in traditional lasagna. And you can use it any time that you need a thicker dish.
Since béchamel is a mother sauce, you can make additions as you will to fit the dish for your needs. If you want a cheesy béchamel, you can add cheese without any negative impact on the sauce! If you want a mushroom sauce, then slice some mushrooms and throw them in. If it seems like a good idea, give it a try. Mother sauces are literally DIY foods.
How Do I Make It?
Easily! There are no special techniques involved in béchamel. You’ll melt butter, add flour, toast the flour in the butter, and add cream. Toasting the flour in the butter is as simple as adding it to the melted butter and quickly whisking to properly mix the flour and keep it from burning. And that’s all that there is to it.
Anything Else?
Just remember that this sauce has about as many variations as you can think of. That’s what makes it particularly useful, like most mother sauces. Try it with mushrooms, with cheese, with herbs, with whatever! It’s foundational, it’s delicious, and it’s completely customizable to exactly your tastes, making it a textbook DIY food!
- 2 tablespoons fat (preferably extra virgin olive oil or butter)
- 2 tablespoons wheat flour
- 1.5 cups whole milk (for much richer results, use cream)
- Salt and Pepper
- You may also add a few herbs of your choosing to better the sauce
- Gently melt butter over medium heat
- Carefully add flour, stirring CONSTANTLY for about 3 minutes
- Slowly stir in milk or cream when the butter/flour mixture has turned a light to medium brown. Don't forget to keep stirring!
- When the mixture has become smooth, season and serve!
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