Besciamella Sauce
This is our Italian version of bechamel sauce. There is a lot of variation to it depending on whether you like it thicker or thinner. If you make it early, it will definitely thicken up so I don't recommend it. It will store in the refrigerator, but not usually longer than a week. This is a key ingredient for both our baked pasta and our lasagna.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 2 C milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp nutmeg ground
Instructions
- Place milk in small saucepan and heat over low heat to warm.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and cook for a minute or so. Do not brown the flour.
- Pour over warm milk all at once. Stir with a whisk to break up the flour clumps. Add salt and nutmeg.
- Cook over medium heat, the mixture should simmer just slightly. Cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
Notes
I always use fresh ground nutmeg. It's really easy to keep a nutmeg seed on hand with a little grater; it doesn't take much more time than spooning it out of a container, and it doesn't go stale as fast.
For a richer sauce, sometimes I'll substitute 1/2 cup of cream for 1/2 cup of the milk. Or you can use cream if you don't have enough milk on hand.
If you burn the butter at the beginning, throw it out; there's no coming back from burnt butter in this recipe.
You can substitute a 1 for 1 gluten-free flour if needed.