Basic White Sauce Recipe
The basic white sauce or bechamel, as it is referred to in Greece and France, is a staple in our farm kitchen. The Basic White Sauce serves as the base for a variety of dishes including curries, gravies, fish sauces and cheese sauces. The classic basic white sauce below uses butter, flour, milk and seasonings; for a lower calorie, healthier white sauce see our No Butter White Sauce recipe and our No Butter White Wine and Herb Sauce recipe.
2 cups low fat milk
3 tablespoons finely diced yellow onion
1 bay leaf
A dash of Cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
In a medium saucepan bring the milk to just under a simmer. Add the yellow onion, bay leaf and cayenne pepper. Simmer on low for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the milk and return back to the saucepan over low heat. In another saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour until the butter and flour make a paste. Slowly add the strained warm milk from the first saucepan while stirring with a wire or non-stick whisk until the butter and flour mixture is completely incorporated into the milk mixture. Continue stirring over low heat for 8-10 minutes allowing the mixture to thicken. Remove from heat and season if needed with a dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
Basic Cooking Utensils:
To make a great sauce even from the easiest sauce recipe, you need to have a good whisk. Whisks come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes but if you are investing in one I suggest you start with the classic whisk shapes shown here. Classic whisks are typically wire with a firm handle.If you are cooking with non-stick or teflon coated pans you will
need to have a whisk that will not scratch the surface of your pots. My favorite non-stick pan safe whisk for sauce recipes is made by Kitchenaid and is pictured here. You can find whisks at cooking stores, department stores or online.