Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
White pepper
Salt
Nutmeg
Watch Sue Riedl make this recipe
Method
Heat 1 ½ cups whole milk just a boil. Remove from heat and cover.
Make a white roux to thicken the sauce by adding the butter and then the flour and cooking for about 2 minutes. You don't want this mixture to get any colour.
Remove the roux from heat and wait till it stops bubbling.
Add the warm milk gradually to the roux, stirring quickly and scraping the roux from the sides of the pan.
Set the pan back on the stove on medium-high heat and whisk constantly to avoid lumps while bringing to a boil.
Your sauce will not get any thicker than what you see at boiling point. Only boil for about one minute, constantly whisking.
The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and season with white pepper and salt — a classic béchamel includes the addition of nutmeg.
For a Mornay sauce, add ½ to 1 cup grated Emmental or Gruyere cheese before you remove the pot from the heat. Stir till the cheese has melted and pour over pasta.