The bechamel

The recipe for bechamel (for 1/2 l)
- 40 g of flour
- 40 g of butter
- 50 cl of milk
- salt and pepper
- grated nutmeg

Melt the butter over low heat. When a foam begins to form, add the flour in one go and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon. Pour a little milk, stirring with a spoon, the dough must be compact and detach from the "ball" walls. Add some milk and mix, to have a homogeneous and lump-free preparation. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Tricks and variants

See also

How to make bechamel at home: traditional, light and vegan without butter!

Croque monsieur with bechamel: the original and quick recipe!

Lumps

To avoid lumps, let the flour and butter cook well, then form a dough that comes off the sides of the pan when you add the first drops of water. Otherwise, a smoothie with the mixer and we don't talk about it anymore!

Nutmeg at the end

The bechamel must be salted and perfumed at the end as it all depends on the final quantity. This way you avoid seasoning too much or not enough.

Liquid or thick

Depending on the type of recipe you intend to use it for, the béchamel will be more or less liquid: to make it more fluid, just add some milk (about 20 cl).

Light

Replace the flour with cornstarch, discard the butter, take some semi-skimmed or skimmed milk. Mix 40 g of cornstarch and 50 cl of milk in a bottle, shaking vigorously and cook everything over low heat so that the dough becomes thicker.

Dairy-free alternative

Replace the milk with broth. In this way you will obtain a "white roux", but also a lighter alternative thanks to the absence of milk.

With cheese

Add 40-50 g of grated cheese to the base.

With tomato sauce

At the end, add 2 tablespoons of concentrated tomato + 1 tablespoon of cream.

Curry

Flavor with 1 teaspoon of curry.

With ham, mushrooms ...

Add 1 - 2 slices of chopped cooked ham to the béchamel, or 200 g of cooked and chopped champignons.

What can you do with basciamella?

>> As such: semi-liquid bechamel is used simply to cover and season fish, vegetables, rice ...

>> In gratins: vegetables, pasta, fish ... Make them au gratin covered with béchamel and breadcrumbs, or béchamel and cheese.

>> Lasagna: for lasagna, you need a very liquid béchamel, because the layers of raw pasta will absorb the liquid during cooking, and then soak in the béchamel.

>> Savory soufflé: there are no soufflés without béchamel! Just add some ingredients such as cheese, mushrooms, ham ...

>> Savory pies: bechamel can be used instead of cream in savory pies.

Here are all the bechamel recipes!