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Parmesan Besciamella
This white sauce is packed with flavor from bay, basil and Parmesan and gets a hint of heat from red pepper flakes. The finished besciamella can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two days.
3
Cups
Tip
Don’t allow the sauce to cool completely before straining. It flows more easily through the mesh of the strainer when warm and fluid.
40 minutes
Ingredients
-
6
tablespoons (¾ stick) salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
-
¼
cup all-purpose flour
Pardon the interruption
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October 13, 2023
Delicate, delicious, and delivers!
This is a bechamel worthy of Italy. It is subtle but delivers tremendous flavor without overwhelming the pasta or ragu. I’ve made this a couple of times to great reviews as an alternative to Alfredo, dipping sauce with garlic and sausage crostini, and in lasagne all with success. My ragu is very similar to Milk Street bolognese ragu recipe, I’ve made both lasagne recipes and they were outstanding. I’ve been cooking Italian cuisine since college (1980s) and this bechamel is outstanding and one recommended by enthusiastic guests at my house! Enjoy it, it’s wonderful and with multiple uses it’s a “Make Again” in my house.
June 12, 2023
Best Bechamel ever!
This was by far the best Bechamel recipe I have made, I think the bay leaves really added to the taste. I could have just eaten this by itself with a spoon.
December 24, 2022
salt and pepper
this needs 1.5 tsp. of salt and 1/3 tsp of white or black pepper. No need to strain as it's incorporated into the entire dish
October 18, 2022
Can the sauce be frozen for later use?
I saw on the Ragu Q&A that it could be frozen and used later without issue so I was wondering if the besciamella could also be frozen or if that would cause it to fall apart?
May 1, 2023
Isn't it a Sauce Mornay, though?
I watched a rerun of this recipe on TV last night off of my DVR. I thought when you added cheese to a bechamel it became a sauce mornay? One thing I like about Milk Street is you don't dumb down or patronize us. Also, in almost every other case you argue against adding oil to water for pasta, as this may impede absorption of the sauce by the noodles. In this case, you added olive oil to the soaking liquid for the noodles. Can you explain the apparent contradiction?
Is salted butter an absolute requirement? Can I use the same quantity of unsalted butter with some amount of added salt?
Just wanted to put my two cents in here.
I reduced the sauce another 10-ish minutes on top of whats listed and it reduced/thickened beautifully.
From all the ingredients, it made just enough to coat 3 thin layers for the lasagna. Tasted amazing.
If I'm unable to get fresh basil could I use some dried? Maybe if I wrapped it in some cheese cloth or some typr of tea strainer? Also fresh parm is tough to get in the woods we live in. Going to have to try using name brand packaged stuff from the cheese cooler. Its presliced pretty thin, should I chop it to make it finer? I think they add cornstarch to the presliced stuff so I wonder if I should cut back on the flour?
Good questions, Fred. For the basil, my first recommendation would be for a different fresh herb, rather than dried basil; parsley would be my first choice, though thyme, oregano or rosemary would also be great. If none of those are available to you fresh, then I would simply skip the herb, as dried basil will introduce savory, woodsy flavors here that you're already getting from the bay. For the parmesan, definitely chop or grate it as finely as you can: the finer it is, the better it will melt into the sauce. Finally, though you are right that presliced or pregrated cheeses usually contain stabilizers, I would keep the amount of flour called for the same, as the stabilizers in the cheese shouldn't be significant enough to change the consistency of your sauce. Good luck! -April D.
Here in Japan, there no such thing as Half and Half. We have regular milk and low fat milk. Cream comes in 2 forms: 35% and 47%. Can I use half milk and half cream to get the same result?
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Is there a typo? 4 cups of half and half + butter and cheese made well over 3 cups of sauce, even after reduced.