Easy Homemade Bechamel Sauce Recipe

Easy homemade Bechamel sauce recipe. Very easy and popular French sauce. You can use it in many dishes.

Sauces fall into categories according to the method of making them:1. Roux Sauces-white and brown 2. Egg-thickened sauces (butter sauces) 3.Mayonnaise 4.Sweet sauces

Roux Sauces

A roux is a flour gently cooked in fat overheat. The cooking time of the roux and ingredients added to it make the difference to the sauce. The roux can be cooked to three stages, white for white and cream sauces, pale straw color for veloute sauce, and brown for brown sauces. Brown is a misnomer, as it should not be allowed to become darker than sand.

The essential thing in making a roux , no matter what color, is to cook it so the starch grains, contained in the flour, burst and absorb the butter completely, so there is no raw starch taste. Care must be taken to ensure the roux is well combined and cooked over a gentle heat before the liquid and flavorings are added. A good tip to cook the finished sauces in a double boiler over low heat for at least 30 minutes. This achieves greater flavor and silkiness of texture. However, it is not always possible to spend this time, and it is quite simple to make good, everyday white sauce quickly.

This sauce has many uses as it may accompany most vegetables, fish, and white meats and many of the various meats and is used in some pasta dishes.

Bechamel Sauce (Simple Method)

Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups (310 ml) milk , 1 yellow onion , peeled and quartered , 1 stalk celery , chopped , 1 carrot , chopped , 6 peppercorns , dash of 1 blade mace , 1 bay leaf , 2 cloves , 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , 1/4 cup all-purpose flour , salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions: Place the milk, onion, celery, carrot, peppercorns, mace, bay leaf, and cloves in the top of a double boiler over gently boiling water, cover the pan and heat very slowly for 30 minutes.

Strain the milk. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the milk and heat, stirring constantly until boiling, then reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

A variation on Easy Homemade Bechamel Sauce Recipe:

Aurore Sauce: Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste.Excellent with eggs, shellfish, and stewed chicken.

Caper Sauce : Add 1/3 cup chopped capers.

Celery Sauce: Add 1/3 cup chopped cooked celery.

Cheese Sauce: Add 1 cup grated cheese to the sauce over hot water and stir until well blended. Season to taste with mustard and paprika.

Mornay Sauce: Add 2/3 cup (160 ml) cream and boil to reduce by a third. Add 1/2 cup mixed grated Gruyere and Parmesan cheese and 6 tablespoons butter. Mix well.

Mushroom Sauce: Add 1 cup chopped or sliced cooked mushrooms.

Oyster Sauce: Heat 2 ½ cups small oysters in their own liquor to the boiling point , cook for 30 seconds, remove from the heat and combine with Bechamel sauce.

Parsley Sauce: Add 7 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.

Soubise Sauce: Blanch 1/2 pound (240 g) chopped onions in 2/3 cup (160 ml) beef stock, drain and saute in 2 tablespoons butter until soft. Sieve into Bechamel sauce.

Tomato Cream Sauce: Cook together 1/2 pound (240 ml) canned tomatoes, 1 stalk celery, 1 sliced onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a dash of black pepper for 20 minutes. Press through a sieve. Add to the Bechamel sauce gradually, stirring constantly.

Easy Homemade Bechamel Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 yellow onion,peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 carrot,finelly chopped
• 1/2 stalk celery,finely chopped
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups (625 ml) milk
• 1/4 pound (120 g) boneless veal,chopped
• 2-3 thyme leaves
• dash white pepper
• dash grated nutmeg

Method