- Béchamel is not as tricky to make as people think…
- Recipe Insights | In Brief
- Recipe Process Overview | In Brief
- Recipe Process Overview | In Detail
- Technical Tips
- Recipe Nutrition Facts | Per Serving
Béchamel is not as tricky to make as people think…
Some people do tend to believe that making béchamel sauce is tricky/a chore and do use the ready made from a box. Please do try to make your own. The difference in the flavour is significant.
What is béchamel?
It’s a white sauce creamy in texture, that depending on it’s consistency, can be used as a pasta sauce i.e. in mac & cheese or as a topper in other pasta recipes such as lasagna and pasticcio.
Alternative names to béchamel are béchamel sauce or white sauce.
The basic ingredients of the classic béchamel sauce are butter, flour and milk. Some other extra can be added in to enhance the flavour such as
- spices like nutmeg
- cheese like philadelphia cheese or parmesan
- eggs that other than flavour can add some warmth to the pale original colour of the sauce
However, the classic béchamel can be tweaked in various ways to become
- skinnier/lighter – see Technical Tips below
- gluten free by substituting wheat flour with cornflour
- dairy free by substituting butter with olive oil and cows milk with plant based milk
Recipe Insights | In Brief
| Item | Info |
|---|---|
| Cost | AED ~15.34 | GBP ~3.27 | EUR ~3.53 | USD ~4.18 for the amount of the ingredients required by the recipe AED ~49.85 | GBP ~10.61 | EUR ~11.46 | USD ~13.59 if assumed that new packages will be bought for the recipe and that some part of it will remain unused i.e. 1kg of flour will be bought but 5 TBS are needed |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Makes | 1 tray of lasagna/pasticcio = 8 generous portions or 12 smaller portions or somewhere between 8 -12 |
| Life Span | up to the next day in the fridge if covered in cling film |
| Ingredients | can see variations – see different versions of the recipe, where any |
Recipe Process Overview | In Brief
Recipe Process Overview | In Detail
Béchamel Sauce | Low Fat White Sauce | Skinny White Sauce | Chefs At Heart
Course: How To’s & MoreDifficulty: Easy1 tray of lasagna
servings15
minutes1034
kcalIngredients
- Step 1: Sauté Butter & Flour
25 gr butter, used Beurre D’Isigny
5 TBS of self rising flour, used Al Baker All Purpose Flour
- Step 2: Add Liquids & Whisk Until Creamy
5 cups of milk, used semi skimmed Cows Milk
2 eggs, used free range
Splash of evaporated milk
- Step 3: Remove from the heat
1 tsp of nutmeg
grated parmesan for the top
breadcrumbs for the top
Directions
- UTENSILS
– wooden spoon
– medium casserole – preferable as its less splish splashing
– a cup
– a tablespoon
– a grater
– a small bowl for the eggs - Step 0: Prepare Firstly | 2 mins
– Gather all ingredients
– Gather all utensils - Step 1: Sauté Butter & Flour | 1 min
– Saute the butter over medium heat
– Then add the flour
– Whisk until you get a homogenous paste with no lumps - Step 2: Add liquids & Whisk Until Creamy | 10 mins
– Add gradually the milk/liquids i.e. add 1 cup firstly and whisk well to remove lumps, if any
– Add the remaining milk/liquids
– You can add the eggs now or at the very end or not at all
– Continue whisking until is creamy and smooth - Step 3: Remove From The Heat | 1 min
– Remove from the heat
– Add nutmeg
– Add the pre whisked eggs, if not added in step 2, of skip them completely - Step 4: Add Your Béchamel At The Top Of Your Lasagna/Pasticcio | 1 min
– Add to the top of your lasagna/pasticcio
– Add grated parmesan and/or some breadcrumbs on top
Notes
- The classic béchamel can be tweaked in various ways to become
- – skinnier/lighter – see Technical Tips below
- – gluten free by substituting wheat flour with cornflour
- – dairy free by substituting butter with 2 TBS olive oil and cows milk with plant based milk such as 5 cups of oat milk
Technical Tips
- Other than béchamel being one of the major ingredients of the flavour as well as the creamy texture, its also one of the major ingredients that drive the calories up; its expected as its made with flour, milk and butter. Béchamel contributes to almost 15% of the calories in our Turkey & Spinach Lasagna for example, which is a fair chunk of the calories but also of the flavour.
- In this béchamel recipe and some others, the highest driver of the calories, is milk. Therefore, by using an alternative to milk or a combination of milks or liquids i.e. water, one can deduct some to lots of calories while maintaining the yummy flavour.
| Béchamel Ingredients | Calories |
|---|---|
| 5 cups of semi skimmed milk | 575 |
| 25 gr of butter | 182 |
| 5 TBS flour | 160 |
| 2 eggs | 118 |
| some grated parmesan | 21 |
| some breadcrumbs | n/a |
| Milk Insights | Calories |
|---|---|
| 5 cups of semi skimmed cows milk | 575 |
| 5 cups of soya milk | 488 |
| 5 cups of oat milk | 438 |
| 3 cups of semi skimmed cows milk + 2 cups water | 345 |
| 5 cups of coconut milk | 250 |
Recipe Nutrition Facts | Per Serving
Nutrition Facts
1 tray of lasagna servings per container
Calories1034
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Total Fat
60.1g
93%
- Saturated Fat 29.7g 149%
- Cholesterol 426.5mg 143%
- Sodium 870.1mg 37%
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Total Carbohydrate
89.5g
30%
- Dietary Fiber 15.5g 62%
- Sugars 70g
- Protein 65.4g 131%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
