Béchamel Sauce

This is the base for so many other sauces, good to have around.

Ingredients

  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 1 pint water
  • 4 oz. unsalted butter
  • 4 oz. white flour (~2/3 cup)
  • Salt, white pepper, nutmeg

Instructions

  1. Mix the water and cream in a stockpot and warm slowly, stirring occasionally to avoid a skin forming.
  2. Melt the butter in a 2 quart saucepan over low- to medium-low heat.
  3. Add the flour to the butter slowly, whisking constantly.
  4. Keep whisking until the roué loses most of its starchy scent and begins to smell toasty.
  5. Add the cream/water mixture a bit at a time, whisking to incorporate.
  6. When all the cream/water has been added, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and let cook for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. When it has lost its starchy taste, season with nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. (If using dried nutmeg, you may want to add this after incorporating all the cream/water to let that flavor come out more.)
  8. Be careful with the salt as it takes a bit for the salt to really flavor the sauce. If you find it too salty suddenly, peel a potato and cut in half. Add to the sauce and let it cook for a bit.

Notes

This is another one I learned with Ben and Jen at The Passionate Palate outside of Denver, Colorado. Great cooking school for amateurs. I “made” this twice in one night one time because I fucked it up the first time — burned the butter and flour by not whisking constantly and probably had the heat too high.