As professional chefs say, sauce is aerobatics. The taste of the main dish largely depends on the quality of the creation and use of the sauce. Making a sauce is as much an art as making a painting. The correct consistency, bouquet of aromas, exquisite taste - isn't this what determines the beauty of the masterpiece of its author ?!
Today we will talk about the most famous and promoted French sauce, which has gained fame in almost all cuisines of the world. He is certainly included in the tops of many well-known ratings. Cooks can call it differently, but the base always remains a mixture of flour, butter and milk. Many will say: “So what's wrong with that? This is a combination of products known from time immemorial”. And yet … Before us is the classic of the culinary art. Everyone who prepares food should know this.
We're talking about Bechamel sauce.
Dark pages in the history of the creation of "white" sauce
There are several unverified versions of the origin story of the excellent sauce.
In fact, they knew how to mix wheat flour and animal fat both in Ancient Egypt and in Ancient Greece. Even then, chefs understood that flour is a natural thickener. But the idea of combining flour, animal fat and cow's milk, brought to perfection, could have arisen only in the "alma mater" of the art of cooking - in France.
There is an assumption that during the time of King Louis XIV, who loved all sorts of culinary delights, Herman Louis de Bechamel, Marquis de Nointel, who had extensive knowledge of art and not only served at the court … Over time, he was close to the king and became a major domo, then there is a household manager. So, allegedly, he created the famous sauce and gave it his name.
Another version says that the dish was invented by the court chef, a certain Pierre de La Varennes, and the name was proposed to be given in honor of the Marquis under the name "Béchamel".
These data refer to the middle of the 17th century.
And some historians of culinary art claim that such a sauce was served with poultry meat, and was also added to soups long before the appearance of the Marquis de Nointel himself.
The version according to which the sought-after sauce was brought to France from Italy back in the middle of the 16th century by the chefs of Catherine de Medici after her betrothal to Henry de Valois, the future French king Henry II, deserves a separate study. Whether it is true or not, Balsamella sauce, which is very similar in composition, is still very popular in Italy.
And yet "Bechamel" is known to us as an original French dish.
Making the classic Bechamel sauce
So, to create a masterpiece in its classic version, you will need:
- wheat flour, preferably of the second grade (for greater benefit to the body) and butter - in equal quantities, for example, 100 grams of butter and 3 tablespoons of flour;
- milk - 1 liter (you may need more or less depending on the desired consistency of the final product);
- one peeled onion and five cloves for making an onion clot;
- a small bunch of parsley and a piece of leek - for flavoring the sauce (you can, of course, do without it or replace it with some aromatic spices like Provencal herbs - literally 0.5 teaspoon);
- salt to taste.
That is, in fact, the whole range of products.
First, you need to prepare the so-called "ru" (from the French roux - red color) - the base for the Béchamel sauce, a mixture of flour and butter used as a thickener.
On a heated stove, melt butter in a saucepan and add wheat flour. The resulting mass is constantly mixed with a spoon (at this stage, the whisk is not recommended, since the mixture will actively adhere to it), make sure that it does not burn, respectively, adjusting the heating of the stove.
Ru is of three types: white, gold and red. It all depends on the duration of the frying of the flour and oil mixture. This is not for everybody.
During the preparation of "ru", you can feel a pleasant nutty aroma. The more the food is heated, the more brown it will become. The main thing is not to overcook!
Next, we set aside the prepared base and start with the flavors. Let's make a klute onion. To do this, peel a whole onion and stick five cloves into it. Then take a bunch of parsley, a small piece of leek and tie it with twine. That's it - the flavors are ready.
We return the stewpan with the cooked "ru" to the preheated stove. We begin to gradually add milk to the mixture (as I said, the amount of milk depends on the desired consistency of the finished sauce). Milk should be at normal room temperature. Now we are working with a whisk, stirring the product continuously. In this case, the lumps should disperse. The heating temperature of the plate is medium. At the very beginning, when it is a rather liquid mass, put the cloute onion and the products tied with twine into it. Instead of parsley and leeks, you can put half a teaspoon of Provencal herbs or other similar spices in a saucepan. Add salt to taste.
Gradually, the mass in the saucepan will begin to thicken. We continue to stir it constantly with a whisk. The whole process will take 10-15 minutes. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency, set it aside, take out the klute onion and a bunch of tied herbs from the saucepan.
Basically, that's it, the sauce is ready. Let's not forget that as it cools down, it will thicken more. If the sauce becomes too thick, dilute it with milk.
Such a classic "Béchamel" can be served with anything: poultry, fish, meat, etc. And you can use it, for example, for making lasagna, moussaka.
