How to make Béchamel sauce

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter (cubed)
• ½ cup flour
• 2-3 cups full cream/whole milk (reserve approximately ½ cup)
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ¼ tsp nutmeg (ground/grated)
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• 1-2 cups mature cheddar cheese (grated, optional for cheese sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Whisk until smooth.

2. 2

   Slowly pour in the milk, a little at a time, whisking continuously until the sauce is thick. (Reserve approximately ½ cup milk — some flours absorb more or less liquid, so you might not need all of it, and after adding cheese you may want to thin out the sauce with the remaining milk.)

3. 3

   Turn down the heat, add the cayenne pepper, mustard powder, and nutmeg, and allow to simmer, stirring, until the sauce is thick and cooked through with no flouriness, around 7–10 minutes on a gentle heat.

4. 4

   Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. 5

   If making cheese sauce, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheese. Season to taste.

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