Connoisseurs of French cuisine know bechamel as an exquisite sauce for meat, fish, vegetables and lasagne. The pleasant aroma and spicy taste that the additive possesses turn the dish into an exquisite masterpiece. The basic recipe for bechamel sauce is very easy to prepare and does not require any special products. By experimenting with adding spices, you can get a new original taste.

Step-by-step recipes for making Bechamel sauce with photos

This dish is one of the top five most popular base sauces in France. The top 5 includes: veloute, espagnole, hollandaise, bechamel, tomato. The basis of the classic Bechamel recipe consists of flour, milk and butter. This base is often used to prepare other sauces, adding cheese, fried onions, nuts and various spices or aromatic herbs. To highlight the taste of a dish and add special notes, it is important to learn how to skillfully cook Bechamel. By following the recommendations below, you will learn to cook in such a way that you will not be ashamed to serve food supplemented with it.

The sauce is prepared in several stages: first, a thickener is made. In France it is called “roux”, which sounds like “ru”, and then it is combined with warm milk, sour cream or cream. The preparation of the sauce, named after the majordomo of Louis XIV Louis Bechamel (although many assume that the dressing was created by one of the royal chefs, and he only appropriated the recipe for himself), begins with giving the flour a reddish color by frying it in butter.

Over the entire period of its existence, “Bechamel” has become so popular that it has acquired many variations, thanks to the addition of certain components (herbs, spices, vegetables). The only thing that remains constant is the base, although it is prepared in several ways: some add milk, others add cream. How to prepare and what to serve Bechamel with is up to you.

Classic Bechamel sauce with nutmeg

This option is perfect with meat, fish, potatoes, and pasta. To prepare the classic recipe you will need the following products:

• milk – 800 ml (the amount depends on the desired thickness; keep in mind that when it cools, the sauce will become thicker than on the stove during cooking);
• butter – 40 g;
• flour – 50 g;
• nutmeg (ground) – 1 teaspoon;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Heat the milk well, but do not let it boil.
2. In another container, melt the butter, add flour and, without removing from low heat, stir well until the mixture becomes a homogeneous consistency.
3. Slowly pour hot milk into the butter-flour mixture, stirring constantly.
4. When the sauce becomes homogeneous, reminiscent of sour cream in thickness, add salt and nutmeg to it.
5. Remove the finished sauce from the heat - it is ready for seasoning dishes.

How to prepare Bechamel sauce for baking lasagna

A filled pasta pie called lasagne is traditionally prepared by Italian housewives with Bechamel sauce. For this dish, a special dressing is made based on the basic version. When planning to prepare Bechamel for lasagna, take the following products:

• milk – 750 ml;
• butter – 50 g;
• flour – 30 g;
• tomato puree (sometimes replaced with ripe tomatoes) – 20 g;
• salt;
• spices.

How to prepare lasagna sauce:

1. Prepare products for Bechamel. If there are tomatoes instead of puree, they are peeled and grated. To make this easier, the tomatoes are first doused with boiling water, and then with ice water - the temperature difference facilitates the process of peeling.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan or suitable pan and fry the flour in it until it turns golden brown.
3. Pour preheated milk into the saucepan and mix well, avoiding the formation of lumps.
4. Almost at the very end of cooking, add tomato puree. Remove from the stove and move on to preparing the lasagna.

Mushroom and cheese sauce recipe

Having mastered the preparation of the classic recipe, you can move on to experiments. The original taste of Bechamel will be given by the combination of the base base with cheese and mushrooms. This option is perfect for black pasta. In cooking, it is better to use not only regular, but also blue cheese. The sauce is prepared from the following products:

• milk – 300 ml;
• flour – 25 g;
• butter – 25 g + for frying mushrooms;
• mushrooms – 5-6 pcs.;

The process of preparing the sauce with cheese and mushrooms:

1. Chop the mushrooms and fry in oil.
2. Grate the cheese.
3. Prepare the main version of the sauce: melt the butter, fry the flour, mix with warm milk.
4. Add grated cheese and pre-fried mushrooms to the Bechamel base. Mix everything well and bring to a boil.
5. Remove from heat and season the dish with sauce.

For fish

Bechamel prepared with the following ingredients will go perfectly with fried or baked fish:

• milk – 1 glass;
• sour cream – 100 g;
• flour – 30 g;
• butter – 40 g;
• egg yolk – 1 pc.;
• lemon juice - to taste;
• salt, spices.

Cooking method:

1. Heat the milk well.
2. Fry wheat flour in butter until golden brown. Combine with warm milk to avoid lumps. Pour it in very slowly, preferably in small portions. At this time, remove the container from the heat, and after stirring, return it to the stove and bring to a boil.
3. When the base is almost ready, add sour cream and lemon juice without removing from heat. Heat the resulting mass well over low heat.
4. Remove the sauce from the stove and add the egg yolk to it. Bechamel is ready to serve with fish.

With spaghetti cream

The most successful combination would be spaghetti seasoned with Bechamel sauce. Its recipe is so universal that it allows you to combine many herbs, spices and other additives. Bechamel will harmonize well with cream. The spaghetti recipe includes the following products:

• cream – 1 glass;
• thick broth (fish, meat or vegetable) - 2 tablespoons;
• butter – 100 g;
• flour – 1 tablespoon;
• Provencal or Italian herbs (basil, mint, oregano, sage, thyme, thyme, marjoram) - 1 pinch.

Cooking method:

1. First of all, heat the cream well (almost to a boil) and add a mixture of herbs to it. This is necessary so as not to be distracted while preparing the roux and to give the sauce a richer flavor.
2. Melt the butter and fry the wheat flour in it.
3. Add the broth to the frying pan, saucepan or saucepan, stir everything until smooth (it’s best to make movements in one direction: either clockwise or counterclockwise).
4. Without removing from the heat, pour the cream and herbs into the flour. Do this very carefully so that no lumps form.
5. Add salt to taste, bring to a boil and remove from heat.
6. Brush the surface of the sauce with butter to prevent it from becoming crusty on top.
7. Boil the spaghetti and serve with Bechamel.

Video

French sauce is an excellent addition to almost any dish; with it, simple food acquires an unusual, refined taste and delights with a wonderful aroma. But this does not mean at all that preparing Bechamel requires some unusual, expensive products and special skills. The following video will help you see this, which shows how to prepare not only the sauce, but also a full breakfast. Try making it yourself!

Bechamel sauce is a classic recipe at home and is mainly used for lasagna. Many people know that the classic Bechamel sauce from a simple recipe remains one of the most popular sauces for serving not only with lasagna, but also with various meat dishes, fish, veal, shrimp, squid, potatoes, manta rays, vegetable dishes, spaghetti and many others.

If for an ordinary housewife Bechamel is something refined and sublime, then in the world of professional chefs it is a necessary base. The ability to prepare this light white sauce is a kind of passport to the world of haute cuisine. The priority is to learn how to cook it so that you won’t be ashamed to serve this exquisite sauce with any well-prepared dish, emphasizing and enhancing its taste. Therefore, if you seriously decide to expand your cooking skills, you know where to start.

Bechamel sauce - cooking basics

• The base for the sauce is Rublon, which is often called simply “Roux” by chefs. This is a mixture of butter and flour, brought to a straw color. Then a liquid component is added to it. In the original recipe it is cream, but you can use full-fat milk;
• Some cooks add broth along with the dairy ingredients. It is not recommended to replace them with fermented milk products, otherwise they will curdle at high temperatures and the sauce will have lumps;
• You cannot break the most important rule for preparing sauce, in which flour and butter are used in equal proportions. You can add different amounts of liquid, thereby changing the thickness of the bechamel;
• For a light aroma of the sauce, you need to add milk. In this method, seasonings are added to a cold liquid, then heated at low temperature, and infused for about 30 minutes. In order not to strain the sauce, herbs and spices must first be wrapped in cheesecloth and the milk boiled with it;
• Bechamel should have a light creamy color and light consistency. You can check it with a spoon. If the mixture drips off slowly, the sauce is cooked correctly.

The sauce consists of an oily flour base and liquid. First, the flour is fried in butter for about 1 minute so that it acquires a soft golden hue, and then liquid is poured in - broth with milk, cream or sour cream.

You can do it a little differently. Dry fry the flour and then add oil when it changes color slightly. When it melts, pour in the liquid and simmer until thickened.

Prepare the sauce using the recipes below and serve it with white fish, veal, poultry, potatoes, celery, cauliflower and other dishes.

Bechamel sauce - a classic sauce recipe at home

First, prepare the ingredients you will need to create the sauce. It should be milk and butter. You will also need salt and flour. You can add black pepper to taste, but only a little, otherwise the taste and smell will be too strong.

Ingredients:

• Milk - 1 l.;
• Butter - 100-150 g;
• Flour - 100 g;
• Ground pepper - to taste;
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. First of all, let the milk heat up. It does not need to be specially heated or boiled. You just need to put it on the table so that it is at room temperature for about 20 minutes. By pouring in such milk, you will be able to quickly achieve homogeneity of the mass and avoid the appearance of lumps;
2. Now heat the butter. Please note: you do not need to try to throw it directly into the mixture of flour and milk, or heat it in one frying pan. Be sure to prepare the butter in advance. A small piece just needs to be melted and poured into any container;
3. Now it's time to fry the flour. There is no need to grease the pan. You simply take a clean frying pan, heat it up, and then pour in the flour. It must be constantly stirred with a spatula, shaking it and separating it from the bottom. As soon as the flour acquires a golden hue, you can begin to pour in the milk;
4. Pour in the milk carefully, in a thin stream. Hold a container of milk in one hand and a spatula in the other. Be sure to stir your mixture constantly. This is the only way you will be able to prepare the sauce according to the recipe;
5. When you have already poured in the milk, you need to thoroughly mix the flour again so that the mass becomes perfectly homogeneous. The butter can be added along with the milk, but some people prefer to add it later, when the main mixture is already ready. This is not of fundamental importance, so do what is most convenient for you;
6. At the final stage of cooking, you need to salt and pepper your mixture. If you need to make it less thick, just add more milk or water. Bon appetit!

Basic sauces are prepared using a certain technology on a certain liquid base with a minimum amount of products in the additional part. The concept of base sauces was developed in the 19th century by French chefs Marie-Antoine Carême and, later, Auguste Escoffier and is still standard in international gastronomy.

The main French sauces include:

1. Bechamel- the main milk sauce, prepared on the basis of white “roux” and milk. The basic recipe for Bechamel sauce is as simple as anything ingenious: fry equal amounts of butter and flour, pour in hot milk;
2. Veloute- basic white sauce, prepared on the basis of golden roux and light chicken/veal or fish broth;
3. Espanol- a basic brown sauce made from red roux and strong meat broth. It differs from previous sauces in that the oil-flour mixture is fried until dark brown;
4. Hollandaise sauce. Prepared on the basis of egg yolks and butter. The smooth, creamy sauce, reminiscent of mayonnaise, pairs best with seafood and vegetable dishes;
5. At the beginning of the 20th century, Escoffier also classified tomato(grated boiled tomatoes) and mayonnaise(from yolk, vegetable oil and mustard).

"Roux" is a heat-treated mixture of flour and fat, usually melted butter. Commonly used as a thickener in sauces. It is one of the main components for classic sauces of French cuisine, including Béchamel, velouté, espagnole and hollandaise sauce. To prepare roux, butter or vegetable oils are usually used.

All experiments at the stove begin with basic classic recipes. If you decide to go one step higher in the culinary arts, a step-by-step recipe for Bechamel sauce for lasagna, moussaka, pasta and other popular dishes will become a solid basis for further development.

Bechamel sauce for lasagna - basic recipe

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour - 200 g;
• Milk (at least 3.2% fat) - 1 liter;
• Butter - 200 g;
• Nutmeg - a pinch;
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Add flour to the pan. Fry it over low heat, stirring with a wooden spatula, until it acquires a distinct creamy hue;
2. Add butter, fry flour with it for 3-5 minutes, stirring vigorously with a spatula;
3. Pour the milk into the pan in a thin stream, while whisking the sauce. There should not be a single lump in the sauce;
4. Add salt and nutmeg, stir sauce;
5. Continue cooking the sauce, whisking, for another 8 to 12 minutes, until it is thick enough.

After this, the sauce can be used. It should be used hot. If it cools down, the Bechamel sauce must be warmed up before pouring over the lasagne or brushing the dough.

For more than three hundred years, the preparation technology and set of components have remained unchanged. The basis of the classic Bechamel recipe consists of flour, milk and butter. This base is often used to prepare other sauces, adding cheese, fried onions, nuts and various spices or aromatic herbs.

Lasagna - recipe with minced meat and Bechamel sauce

Lasagna (Italian: Lasagna) is a type of Italian pasta, which is made from layers of durum wheat dough, layered with various fillings and baked. Lasagna is a traditional Italian dish and there are many variations of its preparation. Today we will prepare lasagna with minced meat and Bechamel sauce, and with the help of a step-by-step recipe you will prepare the most delicious lasagna.

Ingredients:

• Lasagna sheets - 200 g (6-10 pcs.);
• Minced beef and pork - 1 kg;
• Carrots - 3 pcs.;
• Parmesan cheese - 50 g;
• Tomatoes - 6 pcs.;
• Hard cheese (Russian) - 300 g;
• Garlic - 4 cloves;
• Onion - 3 pcs.;
• Vegetable oil - for frying;
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Peel and finely chop the onion;
2. Peel the garlic cloves and press through a garlic press or finely chop;
3. Wash the carrots, peel and grate on a coarse grater;
4. Wash the tomatoes, remove the skins from them and grind them in a blender or grate them;
5. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large frying pan and lightly fry the onion and garlic in it;
6. Add carrots to the onions and fry them for a few more minutes;
7. Place the minced meat in the pan, add salt, add spices to taste and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes;
8. Add the tomatoes to the minced meat, mix well and let simmer for another 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat;
9. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, and grate the Parmesan on a fine grater;
10. To make lasagna, use ready-made lasagna sheets. Before cooking, carefully read on the packaging how the manufacturer recommends using the sheets (whether you need to boil them first or not), take dry leaves without boiling them;
11. Place lasagna sheets in a baking dish;
12. Place half of the minced meat on top;
13. Evenly distribute half of the Bechamel sauce (see the classic sauce recipe above);
14. Sprinkle with half the grated cheese. Place lasagne sheets on top of the cheese again. Lay out the remaining minced meat, cover with half of the remaining Bechamel sauce;
15. Sprinkle with the remaining half of the grated cheese, and again place the lasagne sheets on top;
16. Cover the sheets with the remaining Bechamel sauce. Place the pan in an oven preheated to 180°C for 40-45 minutes;
17. After the specified time has passed, remove the lasagna from the oven and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and place in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Bon appetit!

Lasagna with minced meat - video recipe

Lasagna with chicken and mushrooms with Bechamel sauce and cheese

In Italian restaurants you can see more than 2 dozen varieties of lasagna: with mushrooms and vegetables, vegetarian and with spinach, with chicken or minced meat. We recommend preparing lasagna stuffed with chicken and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• Sheets of finished lasagna - 5-10 pcs.;
• Boiled chicken fillet - 500 g;
• Mushrooms (raw champignons) - 400 g;
• Hard cheese (Russian) - 250 g;
• Onion - 1 pc.;
• Greenery - for decoration;
• Ground black pepper - to taste;
• Salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. We start by preparing the Bechamel sauce. To do this, in a saucepan with a thick bottom over low heat, you need to melt the butter, then fry the flour a little, stirring constantly so that no lumps form and so that the flour does not burn;
2. Then you should slowly pour in all the milk, without ceasing to stir;
3. Add a little salt and pepper, add nutmeg and bring to a boil, remembering to stir. When the sauce reaches the desired consistency, remove it from the heat;
4. The first layer in our lasagna will be mushroom - we’ll start with its preparation. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices, the onion into small rings and fry the onion and mushrooms in heated vegetable oil;
5. Cut the boiled chicken breast into thin slices, grate the cheese on a coarse grater;
6. Preparing lasagne sheets. Stores sell ready-made raw lasagna sheets made from unleavened dough, like pasta, mainly from durum wheat. Boil lasagna sheets in salted water so that they do not stick together, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. This is the average approximate cooking time for sheets, which may differ depending on the manufacturer, so it is advisable to look at the instructions on the packaging;
7. Line the greased form with lasagne sheets, place mushrooms on top (half the total amount), pour Bechamel sauce over them;
8. Cover the first layer of filling with lasagna sheets. Place half of the chicken meat on them, pour Bechamel sauce on them and sprinkle with a little grated cheese;
9. Covering the layer of meat with lasagna sheets, spread the rest of the mushroom filling on them, pouring Bechamel sauce over them;
10. Cover the top again with sheets of dough, place the rest of the meat on them, pour over the sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese. There can be exactly as many such layers as the height of the baking dish allows you;
11. We cover the top layer of filling with a sheet of lasagna and sprinkle generously with grated cheese to bake a golden, aromatic crust;
12. Bake our lasagna in an oven preheated to 180°C for 30-35 minutes;
13. The finished lasagna is served hot, sprinkled with finely chopped herbs on top. In conclusion, we note that the calorie content of this dish is 450 kcal per 100 g. Bon appetit!

To highlight the taste of a dish and add special notes, it is important to learn how to skillfully cook Bechamel. By following the recommendations below, you will learn to cook in such a way that you will not be ashamed to serve food supplemented with it.

The sauce is prepared in several stages: first, a thickener is made. In France it is called “roux”, which sounds like “roux”, and is then combined with warm milk, sour cream or cream.

The preparation of the sauce, named after the majordomo of Louis XIV Louis Bechamel (although many assume that the dressing was created by one of the royal chefs, and he only appropriated the recipe for himself), begins with giving the flour a reddish color by frying it in butter.

When cooling, a crust forms on the surface of the Bechamel sauce, which is completely useless to us. But if you cover the pan with a lid, condensation will form and there will be water in the sauce. We don't need that either.

So we do this: take cling film and cover the sauce with it - place it right on top, letting out the air. Leave the Bechamel in this position until it cools completely, if you need to store it and not use it right away. Then we simply remove the film - the cream will not stick to it. Try it, it's so simple and so delicious!

There are several basic rules that are very easy to learn, then in any case you will get Bechamel sauce:

1. The right dishes. The frying pan or saucepan should have a thick bottom and a non-stick coating. To avoid damaging it, stir the sauce with a wooden spatula or silicone whisk;
2. Temperature contrast. The hot butter-flour mixture should be combined only with cold milk. And vice versa. If the components are at the same temperature, the sauce will form lumps or separate;
3. Milk only. No other dairy products can be used as a base for bechamel. True, some chefs like to experiment with cream. But they must first be diluted with vegetable or meat broth so that they do not curdle;
4. Knowing of limits. Bechamel is primarily a milk sauce. The delicate taste and aroma of milk should dominate, so do not overdo it with spices. They should only slightly shade the sauce;
5. Consistency. The thickness should be such that the Bechamel sauce slowly drips from the spoon, enveloping it. For lasagna or moussaka, the sauce may be thinner;
6. Correct delivery. Before serving Bechamel, you need to warm it up. As it cools, it will begin to crust. The pleasant aroma and spicy taste that the additive possesses turn the dish into an exquisite masterpiece. By experimenting with adding spices, you can get a new original taste.

Over the entire period of its existence, “Bechamel” has become so popular that it has acquired many variations, thanks to the addition of certain components (herbs, spices, vegetables). The only thing that remains unchanged is the base, although it is prepared in several ways: some add milk, others add cream. How to prepare and what to serve Bechamel with is up to you.

Bechamel has many variations:

• Red or black pepper, nutmeg, bay leaf, tomato paste, horseradish root, fried onions, cheese are added to its base;
• It can be liquid if used as a gravy, medium thick and thick if seasoned with soup, julienne, lasagna, spaghetti or baked meat, fish, vegetables. The thickness of the sauce can be varied by adding more or less flour. This will prevent Bechamel from drying out and forming a crusty film;
• If the sauce turns out to be more liquid than you expected, you should not add flour to the finished mass; it is better to keep it on the stove longer than usual. This will be enough for the mass to thicken.

To make it more convenient to add milk to the sauce in a thin stream, you should immediately pour it from the bag, without pouring it into a glass. The finished Bechamel sauce is well stored in the refrigerator, but if there is a need to keep it warm, you can keep it in a steam bath for an hour.

To prevent a film from forming on the surface of the sauce, you can place thin slices of butter or baking paper or cling film on it. Bon appetit!

Bechamel sauce - step-by-step video recipe at home

So, how to make Bechamel sauce at home?

Ingredients

• - 100 gr
• - wheat - 100 gr
• - 750 ml
• - taste
• Additional ingredients for Bechamel sauce with cheese:
• - Parmesan - 100 g (or other hard cheese)
• - yolks - 3 pcs.

Cooking method

Preparing Bechamel sauce is a laborious task, although it is easy to prepare. The main thing is to be consistent and remain patient. The basis of the French sauce, as I already said, is roux, so we’ll prepare it first. Place the saucepan on low heat and melt the butter in it. If you make the fire high, the oil will burn, so you should control the heating process. When the butter is completely melted, add the flour and fry the mixture for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The roux is ready. Let's start preparing the classic Bechamel sauce. We measure out the required amount of milk (take low-fat milk) and begin to slowly pour it into the mixture. Add 70-100 milliliters and stir until completely dissolved and swell, then add another 100 ml, stir again thoroughly and let it swell for half a minute, then pour more and more until all the milk is gone.

In total, you need to add milk 7-10 times, and your Bechamel sauce for Lasagne or Moussaka will turn out perfect, I promise you! The final consistency should be homogeneous, creamy, like liquid sour cream or . After the last batch of milk, leave the sauce on the fire until the first bubbles appear - as soon as it boils, remove.
It remains to add the last required ingredient - nutmeg. Add a pinch or two of spicy spices to the sauce and mix well. If you bought whole nutmeg, you can easily grate it. That's it, you know how to cook classic Bechamel!
Now you can experiment a little! Let's make Bechamel sauce with cheese! To do this, grate Parmesan cheese on a fine grater and add to the classic sauce. We begin to mix thoroughly until all the cheese is completely dissolved.
The final touch is the egg yolks. Separate them from the whites, leave the latter aside, and put the yolks in Bechamel sauce with cheese. They will give it a more delicate consistency, bright taste and rich color. You can also add a little allspice.
Bechamel sauce with Parmesan cheese is ideal for , which I wrote about earlier. This is how delicious it is:
Let's summarize.

How to prepare classic Bechamel sauce and with cheese? The recipe is short

1. Place the saucepan on low heat and put butter in it.
2. When the butter has completely dissolved, add the flour, mix well and fry for 2 minutes - the roux (sauce base) is ready.
3. We measure out the milk and begin to pour in portions, 70-100 ml at a time, after each time thoroughly stirring with the roux and letting it swell for half a minute.
4. When the milk runs out, the sauce should be the consistency of liquid sour cream. Leave it to heat until the first bubbles appear and remove from heat.
5. Add grated nutmeg and mix well again. At this stage classic béchamel sauce ready.
6. To prepare Bechamel sauce with Parmesan cheese, grate the hard cheese on a fine grater.
7. Pour the grated cheese into the classic Bechamel and mix thoroughly until completely dissolved.
8. Take the eggs, separate the yolks from the whites, put the yolks into the sauce and mix thoroughly again.
9. Bechamel sauce with Parmesan cheese ready, you can add a little more allspice.

Hooray! Now you know how to make classic Bechamel sauce with Parmesan cheese! More amazingly delicious dishes are coming soon! So as not to miss, , it's free! In addition, when you subscribe, you will receive as a gift a whole collection of complete recipes of 20 dishes, prepared very quickly, from 5 to 30 minutes! Eating quickly and tasty is real!

Try making classic Bechamel sauce and with Parmesan cheese, leave comments with ratings and remember that cooking delicious is quite simple, and that you are more talented than you can imagine! Enjoy your meal! (shown in the photo)

Sauce recipes

bechamel sauce recipe

1 l

20 minutes

105 kcal

5 /5 (1 )

One day I wanted to go to Paris again. There is no opportunity to travel or fly, but I want something sophisticated, refined, and unusual. My husband laughed at me, but promised an unusual surprise. By the way, he really likes to cook with me. I learned half of what I know from him. And instead of a trip to France, we had a romantic dinner in Provence style. This is how I first tried bechamel sauce and now I cook it very often. I'm sharing the recipe.

Kitchen appliances and utensils: stove, frying pan, saucepan, saucepan, whisk.

Ingredients

How to choose the right ingredients

• Both store-bought and homemade milk are perfect for this sauce.
• It is better to take tasty, proven butter. It gives the dish a unique taste.
• You can buy seasonings packaged in a bag, but it’s better to buy them fresh by weight. They have a more pronounced taste and aroma.

Classic bechamel sauce - step-by-step recipe with photos

1. Pour milk into the pan. The milk must be heated until very hot, but not brought to a boil.
   
   
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
   
   
3. Add all the flour to the melted butter in small portions and mix well. If you have a gas stove, turn off the heat; if you have an electric stove, turn the heat down to low.
   
   
   
4. Add 1-2 ladles of hot milk to a saucepan with butter and flour and stir until smooth.
   
   
   
5. Add salt and seasonings to the milk.
   
   
6. Add the remaining milk with seasonings in small portions, stirring the contents until smooth each time.
   
   
7. The sauce is ready to eat! Bon appetit!
   
   

What is added to this sauce for taste?

Classic béchamel sauce always includes nutmeg.. Without this ingredient, the sauce simply cannot be prepared. Therefore, if you don’t have nutmeg in the house, don’t torture yourself and the Internet by searching for “how to make bechamel without nutmeg.” Choose something else to cook, for example.

I love pasta very much and have always used it, a simple recipe for which my friend gave me. And yesterday for dinner I decided to cook stuffed shells with bechamel sauce. It turned out incredibly delicious.

What dishes does this sauce go with?

• Pork dishes. True, I always serve it with pork, the recipe for which has never failed me. But you can always experiment.
• Fish. I have a separate one for fish dishes. But fish gourmets unanimously claim that bechamel and fish are a delicious combination.
• Mushrooms. I've seen a recipe for this sauce with mushrooms, but I've never tried it.
• Lasagna. Italian-French exotica. Gourmets, go for it.
• Vegetable dishes. Vegetable casserole with this sauce is simply delicious.

In culinary parlance, sauces are adjectives that enrich, decorate and improve the taste of other foods. Sauces moisten (olive sauce on bread), add acidity (tomato sauce on pasta) and enrich (creamy sorrel sauce) the flavor of dishes. Knowing even a few sauce recipes (like the classic Béchamel sauce) will add sophistication and a deeper dimension to your dishes. It is the sauce that distinguishes a dish prepared by a chef from the work of an ordinary cook.

Bechamel sauce

If the thick sauce hardens and forms a film, it has not been prepared correctly. Properly prepared thick sauces have a silky smooth texture and should be cooked for at least 25 minutes. Bechamel sauce is indispensable when preparing lasagna, soufflés and casseroles.

Sauce base: The sauce is thick due to the combination of flour and fats. Usually butter and milk are used as fats, but you can also make a sauce based on vegetable oil and vegetable broth.

Sauce without lumps: To make the sauce without lumps, you need to add warm liquid to a warm mixture of flour and fats or cold liquid to a cold mixture of flour and fats, and then quickly stir everything with a wooden spoon. When preparing the sauce in a double boiler, be sure to stir it periodically.

Seasonings: You can add vegetable puree, fried garlic, tomato sauce, fresh herbs, curry seasoning and grated cheese to the prepared sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 glasses of milk
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs parsley
• 3½ tablespoons butter
• 3½ tablespoons flour
• salt and ground white pepper
• ground nutmeg

Preparation

1) In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, gently heat the milk with the onion, bay leaf and parsley. There is no need to bring to a boil. Then remove the pan from the stove and leave for 15 minutes.

2) In another frying pan, melt the butter, add flour and cook over medium heat, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Then quickly pour the milk through a sieve and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens.

3) After this, reduce the heat and cook for another 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt, pepper, add nutmeg to taste. If you are not using the sauce right away, be sure to cover the sauce bowl with plastic wrap.

Bechamel sauce with herbs: Add ½ cup of finely chopped herbs to the prepared sauce: onion, thyme, tarragon or parsley.
High-calorie Bechamel sauce: Add ½ cup of cream to the prepared sauce.

Bechamel sauce for vegans: Replace butter with vegetable oil, and replace cow's milk with soy milk or vegetable broth. Béchamel Cheese Sauce: Add ½ cup of grated Cheddar or Gruyere cheese or Swiss cheese, a pinch of cayenne pepper and 2-3 teaspoons of Dijon mustard to the prepared sauce. Serve this sauce over broccoli, cauliflower, or collard greens.