White sauce / béchamel

[kerouac2]

Everybody should know how to make white sauce to pour over steamed vegetables, fish or whatever strikes your fancy, but here is a super simple microwave recipe that dirties no pots or pans.

Use a one quart bowl (for once, I will use anglo measurements).

Put two tablespoons of butter in the bowl and melt it in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds.
Whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and microwave for 2 minutes.
Whisk in one cup of milk and your personal decision regarding salt and pepper.
Microwave for 3 or 4 minutes, stopping each minute long enough to stir the mixture.

That's all there is to it.

You can make all sorts of variations with chopped garlic, chopped parsley, grated parmesan, blue cheese or anything else that sounds good.  Don't overdo it.

[bixaorellana]

White sauce, which I do prefer to call béchamel, just because it sounds better, is a most necessary cooking skill. And best of all, it requires almost no skill. It's crucial to macaroni and cheese, and the true white filling to lasagna -- cheaper, easier to work with, and renders a finer result than ricotta.

[kerouac2]

But this recipe is for people who don't want to wash pots and pans.

[bixaorellana]

So a thread with just one post?

Maybe you should change the title.

[kerouac2]

But this thread is already taking off like wildfire!

[bixaorellana]

Shall I remove my well-though-out and informative little post so that it can return to a dead-end post about microwave white sauce, a substance too many people consider innately boring?

You know I'm here to please!

[kerouac2]

I am a tiny bit perplexed since The Galley is the area to post recipes. I posted a simple recipe, and anybody else is welcome to post variations and improvements. I checked before posting that there was not already a thread devoted to béchamel, even if it is mentioned from time to time.

If somebody wants to start a thread called "mushroom gravy" that is totally fine with me too.

(I hope that the others are amused by our idle banter.)

[cheerypeabrain]

When I make a white sauce I initially put the milk on a very gentle heat with a few peppercorns, a chunk of onion or a shallot, a chunk of celery and half a carrot...sometimes a clove of garlic. I don't peel anything...just steep the vegetables in the milk on a very low heat for a while without boiling. Then I strain off the peppercorns and vegetables and use the flavoured milk to make the white sauce. It gives a slightly more savoury sauce.

[cheerypeabrain]

I make a slightly richer sauce using single cream and the above method, when the sauce is made I add chunks of lean cooked ham and chicken, or chicken and chopped leeks...to make lovely pie fillings.

[kerouac2]

That sounds interesting, but I never want to strain anything out. I want to be able to consume just about everything except bay leaves, anis or cloves. However, I totaly approve of adding all sorts of extra flavours. Saffron is also excellent in many cases.

[cheerypeabrain]

Ooh not tried saffron.

My sister uses the sauce as a base for fish pie, she crams prawns, chunks of salmon, white fish etc into the sauce and adds a layer of cheesy mashed potato topping. Bakes it in the oven till its crispy on top...She loves it...

[bixaorellana]

May 23, 2020 18:41:24 GMT kerouac2 said:

If somebody wants to start a thread called "mushroom gravy" that is totally fine with me too.

Maybe you, since you're the first to mention or even think of mushrooms in this thread.

You need to understand that white sauce/béchamel is not only a sauce, but can also be a jumping off place for other creations -- something I clearly explained and that Cheery brilliantly illustrated.

Love the basics of your sister's fish pie, Cheery, although I'd be tempted to go with no potatoes & a simple top crust.

re: saffron -- that would be fabulous! The "extra" flavor in besciamella is nutmeg. Here is a recipe to satisfy Mr. Picky and for the edification of budding cooks ~ rouxbe.com/recipes/1131-mario-batalis-besciamella

[cheerypeabrain]

I use nutmeg in my bechamel when I make lasagne. Tried without the nutmeg and altho it's still lovely, it's not as good...

[lagatta]

I also add a bit of nutmeg to béchamel. Mine isn't so economical as I use goat's milk. But then, I don't make lasagne very often. Yes, I've also tried soya milk, but it is meh and has an odd texture. I definitely prefer béchamel to ricotta in lasagne. Ricotta (once again, goat's or ewe's for me) makes wonderful cheesecakes that are lighter and more interesting than the cream cheese kind.

[cheerypeabrain]

Isnt béchamel a base for things like soufflé? I seem to remember reading that somewhere...I've never made one so I don't know

[kerouac2]

On the importance of béchamel in lasagne...

[bjd]

I always use bechamel in lasagne. I also add spinach to the meat, which is part of the canelloni recipe in the same cookbook, but I think it adds something extra to lasagne.

[fumobici]

If you have access to really good ricotta, you are better off minus the bechamel I think. Spinach is a nice addition however. Lasagna is made bearable to make by the new fangled parbaked pasta. Lasagna and enchiladas are great to take to pot lucks.

[bixaorellana]

Can't agree. I like it better with bechamel. Also, I thought that was the original way lasagna was made. To be completely honest, I could go the rest of my life without lasagna and be content. It's not that I don't like it, it's just something about the big stodgy slippery noodles that doesn't do it for me.

[bjd]

I also prefer to use bechamel. As for "big stodgy slippery noodles"? I use fresh pasta sheets and it's much easier that having to cook big noodles and then put them on.

[bixaorellana]

That would be much nicer, Bjd. The only way I could get that would be to make it myself -- ha ha ha.

[kerouac2]

I have long used the Barilla pasta sheets that do not require boiling. You just lay them flat and stiff to make the layers, and they cook perfectly in the oven.

[casimira]

One of my favorite dishes that I always looked forward to was my mother making a bechamel sauce with finely chopped up turkey the day after Thanksgiving. She would pour it over sliced pieces of toast.
I enjoyed it more than the turkey served the day before.

[tod2]

I too use the Barilla pasta sheets simply because we can get( freshly made and shipped to Africa from Italy) pasta in the form of Tagliatelle , ravioli, and the like, but no fresh pasta sheets.
I also use the Barilla cannelloni tubes. Not very often as they are a bugger to fill.

[kerouac2]

I agree that trying to fill cannelloni tubes is a crime against humanity or at least against anybody working in a kitchen.

[bjd]

When I make cannelloni, I use the fresh pasta sheets, cut them into smaller rectangles,put on the filling and roll them up. Filling the hard tubes was indeed a real pain in the neck.

[lugg]

Sept 28, 2021 1:31:58 GMT fumobici said:

If you have access to really good ricotta, you are better off minus the bechamel I think. Spinach is a nice addition however

I am with Fumobici re replacing béchamel with ricotta / spinach and pesto mix ...but only for lasagna made with minced chicken and / or turkey . It really is a much lighter dish but as, if not more, tasty than the traditional lasagna

[lagatta]

While I like poultry mince, that type of lasagne is also fine without any meat, and there is plenty of animal protein in the cheeses.

[tod2]

If I make lasagne or moussaka that require bechamel sauce, I put in quite a lot of cream, and lastly an egg or even two egg yolks at the end. I find this enriches the dish no matter what the filling is.

[bixaorellana]

Nice idea to do that with lasagna, Tod -- I've always liked that eggy topping on moussaka.

I also like Casimira's mother's way with leftover turkey. This is not on the same level, but when I was a child my mother would sometimes make a kids' lunch from canned mushroom soup with canned tuna poured over buttered toast. I still like it.