Bechamel Sauce

Three Cheese Ravioli in a Bechamel sauce

Bechamel Sauce - also known as white sauce, is one of the Mother sauces of French cuisine and is used in many recipes of the Italian cuisine.  It is used as the base for other sauces, such as Mornay Sauce, which is Bechamel with cheese.  It is traditionally made by whisking scalded milk gradually into a white flour-butter roux.  The thickness of the final sauce depends on the proportions of milk and flour.

INGREDIENTS (Mario Batali)

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Yields 3 cups

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

REVIEW

This was my first time making this sauce and I actually found it to be very simple.  My sauce came out a tad too thick and next time would add just a little bit more milk to thin it out.  At first taste, it was very bland and I started to panic.  However, after adding the salt and nutmeg it ended up tasting pretty good. It's very rich, at least for my taste.  I do not recommend serving this sauce on just plain pasta as I did.  You need to add something to it such as  Blackend Chicken, shrimp or Mushrooms. 

Overall it was very tasty.  Side note, a little goes a long way as it is very rich.  I can't wait to make it again and put my own twist on it.