Long-method Béchamel Sauce is a traditional French recipe for a classic but more complex method of making a traditional white sauce where the milk is first flavoured with vegetables and herbs before the sauce itself is prepared. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic French version of: Long-method Béchamel Sauce.
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Just to show that a béchamel sauce is not just a matter of mixing milk into roux and cooking until thickened this is a far more complex (and flavoursome) method than normal to create the classic white sauce.
Ingredients:
60g onions, finely diced
60g carrots, finely diced
30g white part of leek, finely diced
15g celery stick, finely diced
30g butter
For the Roux:
30g butter
30g plain flour
750ml milk
1 bouquet garni (made from a sprig each of parsley, thyme and a bayleaf, tied together)
1 blade of mace
6 black peppercorns
pinch of sea salt
a few mushroom peelings, well washed
cream, to finish
Method:
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan then add the vegetables, cover and sweat for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the contents of the pan out onto a plate then wipe the pan and return to the hob.
Add the butter for the roux to the pan and when melted scatter over the flour. Stir to form a smooth roux then whisk in the milk until smooth. Heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the vegetables back to the pan along with the bouquet garni, mace and the black peppercorns. Season with the salt and mushroom peelings.
Simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the sauce reaches the consistency of double cream strain into a clean saucepan, ensuring you press the vegetables with the back of a spoon to extract the maximum flavour from them. Adjust the seasonings to taste then add a little cream and allow to heat through before use.
