The besciamella sauce is a staple in Italian cuisine, it is made with basic ingredients and can be used in the preparation of lasagna, pasta bakes, and cannelloni.
Place the butter in a saucepan and melt it over medium heat, stirring from time to time with a whisk.
Add the flour while whisking vigorously. Keep whisking the mixture and allow to cook until the flour slightly turns into a golden color.
Pour in the milk little by little while stirring with the whisk to prevent the mixture from forming large lumps.
Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Set the heat to medium-low and cook the sauce for 10 minutes while stirring constantly. The sauce is done when it has a thick texture that fully coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Turn off the heat and adjust seasonings to taste.
You can use it now on your recipe or store it for later.
Notes
To store the sauce: You first have to let it cool completely, then put it in the refrigerator where it can last three to four days.
Freeze it: If you want you can also freeze it and when you need it, defrost it in the refrigerator the day before using it, then warm it up slightly by adding a splash of milk.
Enhance it: Depending on the recipe in which you are going to use the sauce, you can flavor it by heating the milk with various spices and aromatic herbs, including garlic and onion.
The skin: Once the besciamella sauce is ready, just let it cool and cover with cling film, making sure that it is in contact with the sauce to avoid a hard skin layer from forming on the surface.