Bechamel is an exquisite sauce, the pleasant aroma and savory taste of which will turn any dish into a real masterpiece. Bechamel belongs to the base sauces, which are used in cooking.
Often, it is to the taste of cooked bechamel that the chef's professionalism is checked.
Bechamel Sauce Step by Step Recipe - Basic Cooking Principles
The basis of the classic sauce is made from milk, butter and flour. The amount of milk depends on the desired thickness of the sauce. It should be borne in mind that as it cools, it will become thicker than during the cooking process. You can take any milk, but it is better if it is a home product.
Milk is poured into a saucepan and sent to the stove. It is well heated, but not brought to a boil.
In a separate saucepan, dissolve the butter, pour in the flour and keep on low heat, stirring vigorously, until the mixture becomes a uniform consistency. At the same time thoroughly rub the thick mixture to get rid of lumps.
Hot milk is introduced into the oil-flour mixture in a thin stream, while vigorously stirring with a whisk, so that the flour is evenly distributed to the liquid. It should make the sauce consistency sour cream. At the end of it is salted and flavored with nutmeg.
Mushrooms, fried onions, cheese, nuts and various aromatic herbs or spices can be added to the basis of the bechamel sauce. As a result, from one basis you can get a variety of sauces for fish, meat or other dishes.
Bechamel sauce has a lot of cooking options, depending on the ingredients that are added to it. And only the method of preparation of the base remains unchanged.
Sometimes, the milk for the base is replaced with cream or sour cream.
Bechamel can be served with fish, meat, pasta or vegetables. Bechamel sauce step-by-step recipe will allow you to cook it according to all the rules of French chefs.
Recipe 1. Bechamel sauce step-by-step recipe
Ingredients
half a liter of milk;
on the tip of a ground nutmeg knife;
40 g flour;
salt to taste;
40 g butter.
Preparation Method
1. Take a small saucepan with a thick bottom. Put the butter in it and put on minimal heat. Melt, but do not boil. Never melt the oil on an intense fire, otherwise it will simply burn. Do not use so-called spreads for making sauce. Oil should be natural, without admixtures of vegetable fats. 2. Sift flour and pour in a thin stream in melted butter. At the same time intensively stir with a spoon, carefully rubbing the thick mixture so that not a single lump remains. The fire should be minimal. Cook for a couple of minutes. At this stage, it is extremely important to continuously mix the mixture so that it does not burn and does not turn into a lump.
3. As soon as the mixture gets a pleasant color and a peculiar nutty aroma appears, pour in some milk and whisk thoroughly until a homogeneous consistency is obtained without lumps. Milk must first be heated until it becomes hot, but do not boil it.
4. Keep on fire until the mass becomes smooth and uniform. Add salt to the sauce and season with nutmeg. Remember that in the process of cooking the sauce must be constantly intensively mixed so that it will turn out without lumps. Mostly nutmeg and salt are added at the end, but it is better to add them at this stage. In a thick sauce, nutmeg can disperse unevenly, which will spoil not only the taste, but also the appearance of the dish.
5. Now pour the rest of the milk in a thin stream and continue cooking, whipping vigorously until the sauce thickens. Boil for five to seven minutes at minimum heat. So it does not burn, and you can control its thickening. As soon as the first bubbles begin to appear on the surface, remove the sauce from the stove and cool. Stir occasionally to prevent film formation on the surface.
6. Put the ready-made bechamel sauce in the sauce-pot and serve with fish, meat, vegetable or other dishes.
Recipe 2. Bechamel sauce is a step-by-step recipe with cheese and mushrooms
Ingredients
300 ml of milk;
cheese;
25 g wheat flour;
six mushrooms;
25 g butter.
Preparation Method
1. Mushrooms for sauce can use any. But mostly mushrooms are added. They can always be bought in any store. Many hostesses wash the champignons, but it is better not to do this, as they quickly absorb moisture, which they will actively give off during the roasting process. Simply wipe them with a damp cloth or sponge. Cut the legs, remove the thin skin from the caps and chop the mushrooms into thin slices or small cubes. If you use wild mushrooms, it is desirable to pre-boil them. Put the prepared mushrooms in a cast-iron skillet with melted butter. Fry, stirring regularly, until golden. 2. Chop grated cheese with small holes. For the sauce, you can use any hard cheese: Russian, Dutch and even with mold. The cheese will be easier to grate, if before that put it for a while in the freezer.
3. Put the butter in a saucepan and place it on the stove. Turn on the minimum fire and wait until it is completely melted. Do not turn on high heat, otherwise the oil will burn, and the taste of the sauce will be hopelessly flawed.
4. Sift the flour. Enter a thin stream into the melted butter, while constantly rubbing the mixture with a spoon so that no lumps form. Now pour in some hot, but not boiled milk, intensively stirring with a whisk until you get a smooth smooth mixture.
5. Season everything with nutmeg and salt. Stir and pour the remaining milk. Keep on low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the sauce thickens. At this stage, it is very important to continue stirring, as the sauce will begin to thicken and can burn.
6. Put the fried mushrooms and grated cheese in the sauce. Mix everything well and keep on the fire until the first signs of boiling appear. Remove from heat, cool and dress the sauce. While the sauce cools, it is necessary to mix it from time to time so that there is no film on top.
Recipe 3. Bechamel sauce is a step-by-step recipe for fish
Ingredients
a glass of homemade or pasteurized milk;
salt;
sour cream - 100 g;
spices;
tablespoon flour;
lemon juice;
butter - 40 g;
egg yolk.
Preparation Method
1. Pour the milk into a small saucepan and heat well, but do not bring it to a boil. We do it on a small fire, so as not to miss the boiling point. Milk is better to take homemade, it is fatter, which means that the sauce will be nourishing. But you can use and store any fat content. The main thing is that it is fresh, otherwise it can curl up during warming up.
2. Put the butter in a saucepan and dissolve it over low heat. Pour the sifted flour and fry it until golden brown, constantly rubbing the mixture with a spoon to eliminate the formation of lumps. Flour flour thin stream.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Small portions begin to pour hot milk, continuously shaking all the whisk. This should be done intensively so that the fried flour is evenly distributed and a smooth homogeneous mixture is obtained. Re-send to a slow fire and continue to cook until the first signs of boiling appear on the surface. Cook the sauce only over low heat, otherwise it will burn. 4. Add lemon juice and sour cream to our base for the sauce. Thoroughly stir and heat over a low heat. Sour cream can use any fat content, and even homemade. Lemon juice is used freshly squeezed. To do this, take a lemon, rinse it, wipe with a towel, cut in half and squeeze the juice. We make sure that the pulp and bones do not fall into the juice.
5. Remove the saucepan with the sauce from the fire. Egg yolk is added and it is stirred into bechamel in fast, energetic movements. Serve sauce with fried, boiled or baked fish.
Bechamel Sauce Step by Step Recipe - Tips and Tricks
- Cook the sauce only on the lowest possible fire so that it does not burn.
- Nutmeg use ground. If you have a regular, you can grind it in a coffee grinder.
- You can add walnuts to the sauce, grinding them not too small in a blender.
- During the cooking process, constantly stir the sauce so that it turns out to have a smooth and smooth consistency.
- You can use bechamel sauce for cooking, or serve as a supplement to fish or meat.
