How to make a Bechamel sauce-One of the 5 French mother sauce
Hello Foodies, This recipe is about the Bechamel sauce (White sauce), one of the 5 French mother sauce (Bechamel, veloute, espagnol, hollandaise and tomato). Why is it so called "Mother Sauce"? Because from it you can create a "Derivative sauce" by adding other ingredients. Such as adding egg yolks and Cheese and you have the famous "Mornay sauce" (my next recipe). Or, add chopped fresh parsley and you have a parsley sauce. Add, mustard and a little cream and you have a mustard sauce. This recipe is a classic. Uses of bechamel sauce? Lasagna, filling for vol au vent, dartois, pies, tourtes, macaroni cheese and so many more applications. Tip: you should always consider around 80 to 100 ml of sauce per person. Lets get cooking Bon Appetit, Frenchy
Servings: 12 yield(s)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Ingredients
  • 1 l Milk
  • 100 g Brown onion
  • 4 Bay leaves
  • 1/5 tsp Nutmeg
  • 60 g Butter
  • 60 g Plain flour
  • Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
    Flavouring your milk
  1. You will need 2 sauce pans for this recipe. chop your onion in 8 and add the bay leaves to a sauce pan.
  2. Add the milk to the sauce pan.
  3. Bring the milk to boiling point.
    4. Making a white roux
  4. Whilst your milk is warming up, add your butter to another sauce pan.
  5. Add the nutmeg to the milk, and make sure you melt the entire butter.
  6. Once the butter is melted without getting brown, add all the flour at once.
  7. Using a whisk, mix well the flour and butter together. Voila, you just made a roux.
  8. Once done, switch off the heat and wait for the milk to reach boiling point.
  9. Once the milk is hot, using a laddle, add the milk a little at the time and mix well making sure there is no lumps. Do not switch on the gas. Do not add the onions or bay leaves discard them all. if it is easier for you strain the milk
  10. Mix well.
  11. Add more milk and mix well.
  12. Once you have added all the milk, do not add the onions or bay leaves, Switch on the gas and whisk untill the sauce is boiling. KEEP MIXING as it is heating up.
  13. Once the sauce shows big bubbles (boiling), keep whisking and cook the sauce for at least 2 minutes. This will help thicken the sauce and cook the flour out.
  14. Once done, transfer your sauce into a clean bowl or use it straight away.
  15. Voila, you just made Bechamel sauce. Check the seasoning and add salt and WHITE pepper.
Recipe Notes

You can keep the sauce in the fridge for 3 to 5 days or freeze it up to 3 months. If you are using it for pies, i recommend cooling it down first to not melt your pastry. For Vol au vent filling i recommend you use 100g of butter and 100g of flour for 1 liter of milk. It will make your suace a little thicker.