Béchamel sauce
Introduction
I remember this sauce was the very first thing I learnt to make in catering college so it seems like a good place to start, It worked for me !
Ingredients
600ml milk
1 bay leaf fresh or dried
50g butter/marg
40g plain flour
½ tbsp of ground white pepper
Method
Pour the milk into a pan with the bay leaf and white pepper, heat gently to a simmer
In another pan of equal size melt the butter/marg ,
Add the flour and mix with a wooden soup to form a paste
Turn the heat down and keep cooking the paste for a minute or so this will cook out the flour and ensure you don’t end up with a flour taste to your sauce
Replace your wooden spoon with a whisk and start to add the milk a little at a time, keep whisking the sauce and incorporate the milk until it is all mixed in.
Bring the sauce put to a gentle simmer to finish cooking it is important you do this gently other wise you might scorch the sauce and it will leave a burnt taste (you don’t want that after all your hard work)
Once you have made the sauce, you can start to make all kinds of tasty dishes, if you don’t want to use the sauce the same day pour it into a container and lay a piece of cling film over it so it is sat on the surface this will make sure you don’t get a thick layer of skin
