Béchamel is an easy to make sauce made from a roux of butter and flour cooked in milk and seasoned with salt.
When making béchamel it is very important not to darken or burn your roux (flour fried in butter) and to cook it over very low heat. If the roux is dark the béchamel will no longer be white in colour.
It’s also important to keep it over low heat when adding your milk and to whisk it continuously, or you’ll end up with a lumpy, curdled mess instead of a smooth, white sauce.
You can make this sauce on the hob of a conventional oven or on a gas grill.
- Begin by melting the butter over low heat.
- Add the flour to the melted butter and fry over low heat without allowing the flour to brown.
- Slowly add in the milk, whisking continuously until the sauce thickens. Once the milk is fully incorporated and the sauce is homogenous, the heat can be increased in order to reduce the sauce more quickly. Do not allow to boil.
- Season with salt and white pepper to taste. (*The use of black pepper is fine however, the sauce will no longer be a pure white sauce in this case.)