Béchamel Sauce / White Sauce / Sos alb

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.  Whisk in flour.  Cook over low heat stirring constantly until golden (3-5 min).

2. Drizzle in milk (you will get the best results with hot milk, but it’s not necessary).

3. Whisk and cook until thick and smooth, approximately 5-8 minutes.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Notes: A simple white sauce is good for any pasta, a base for Macaroni & Cheese*, Savory Crepes**, baked cauliflower, cream soups, casseroles and more. This recipe will produce about 3 cups of fairly thin sauce. For a thicker sauce, use less milk. The key to this recipe is to keep the flour to butter ration at 1:1.  Here’s a quick key: 1 Tbs butter + 1 Tbs flour + 1 c milk yields about 1 c of thin sauce. It follows that 4 Tbs butter + 4 Tbs flour + 1 c milk = about 1 c. very thick sauce. Vary this as needed.

 

Variations: For Cheese Sauce, add 1 c grated cheese at the end and stir until melted. For more exciting flavors add herbs/spices like paprika, rosemary, sage, basil etc.  Sliced ham, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, peppers and just about anything else can be added as well. You can also replace the milk with broth (or bouillon and water) for a different flavor. Wine too is a nice addition.

 

References: *See the Baked Macaroni & Cheese recipe. **See the Savory Crepes.