Béchamel Sauce
Béchamel is a plain white sauce made from butter, flour and milk, and it is the starting point for many other sauces. This version steeps a whole peeled onion and a fresh bay leaf in the heating milk, which adds gentle savor without any chopping or browning. Cooking the roux briefly first removes the floury taste. Make it once and you have the base for gratins, lasagne and creamy sauces.
Instructions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste, which is the roux.
Keep cooking the roux over gentle heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring so it does not take on any color. This step cooks out the raw flour taste, so do not skip it.
While the roux cooks, start warming the milk in a separate pot. Peel the onion but leave it whole, then add it to the milk along with the bay leaf.
Stir the milk until it reaches 80°C, and keep it moving so no film sticks and cooks onto the bottom of the pot. Lift out the onion and bay leaf and discard them.
Whisk the hot milk into the roux a little at a time, blending each addition in before adding more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring, until it has thickened. It is ready when it coats a spoon and is completely free of lumps.
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