Béchamel Sauce with Classic Variations
Make a light French béchamel base transformed into classic cream, tomato, onion, or watercress sauces.
Ingredients
- 40 g Unsalted butter
- 40 g All-purpose flour
- 1 liter Whole milk
- 1 small Small onion, peeled and halved
- 1 sprig Fresh thyme sprig
- 1 Bay leaf
- 4 Whole cloves
- 1 pinch Freshly grated nutmeg
- to taste Salt
- to taste Freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium-low heat.
- Add flour and stir constantly into a smooth roux. Cook gently for approximately 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow the roux to cool.
- In a separate saucepan combine milk, onion, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Bring gently to a simmer.
- Remove from heat. Strain out the aromatics.
- Gradually whisk the warm strained milk into the cooled roux.
- Return to medium heat. Stir continuously until thickened and gently simmering. Cook another 1–2 minutes until smooth and glossy.
- Adjust salt, white pepper, and nutmeg.
Nutrition
Chef's Notes
Variation A — Sauce Crème: For every 250 ml béchamel, add approximately 100 ml cream. Stir over medium heat and reduce back to desired consistency. Variation B — Sauce Aurore: Per 250 ml béchamel, add 2–3 tbsp good-quality tomato sauce or passata. Variation C — Sauce Soubise: Per 250 ml béchamel, add 125 g onions softened in butter. Blend until smooth. Variation D — Sauce Cresson: Per 300 ml béchamel, add 1.5–2 cups blanched watercress leaves. Blend thoroughly until smooth. Important: The four derivatives use different base quantities. Do not scale all variations against the complete 1-liter batch. Apply each variation's stated ratio separately.