free italian recipes

bechamel sauce

How to make a béchamel sauce

The béchamel sauce (or besciamella in Italian) is a creamy white flower sauce. It is often used in the northern Italian and French cosine for its simplicity to prepare, and for the amazing creamy flavor. Bechamel is a key ingredient in the northern Italian style lasagna, also called “pasticcio” in the north-east regions (Veneto and Friuli). There is a big dispute about the paternity of the sauce, but it is still not known who it belongs to: France or Italy.

Melt 50g (1.8 oz) of butter in a large sauce pan at low heat. Then take it off the stove and add 50g (1.8 oz) of flower (using a sifter). Stir using a wooden spoon until creamy. Put the pan back on the stove at low heat and keep stirring to avoid the sauce to assume a brownish color. Add then 500g (2 cups and ¼) of HOT whole milk, but very slowly. Never stop stirring. Cook until obtain a dense creamy sauce,  then add salt and pepper. For a more dense sauce add more flower, if instead you prefer a less dense one, add more milk. Add a bit of nutmeg powder (optional).

Lasagna with meat sauce (Bolognese)

In Italy we have hundreds of different ways to make lasagna, and every region and every city claim to have the “right” recipe for the perfect lasagna. This particular lasagna is from the northern region of Italy called Emilia-romagna. It  is made with a particular meat sauce that is typical around the city of Bologna (that is why it is called Bolognese). 

Ingredients: pre-made lasagna (or you can make your own), ground beef ( 1lb ), béchamel  50cl (18 oz), grated parmesan cheese 70g (2.5 oz), white wine ½ cup, tomatoes sauce 250g (9 oz), 1 onion, 1 carrot, butter, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

Heat three teaspoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the carrot and  onion (both chopped) and sauté at medium heat for a few minutes. Add the meat and let it brown. Pour the wine in the pan, lower the heat, and let it dry. Add the tomato sauce and cook at low heat for 30-35 minutes stir often.  Season  with  salt and pepper. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the lasagna  noodles  and  place the first layer in a buttered lasagna pan. Spread  a few spoons of the meat sauce and a few  spoons  of  béchamel  on the first layer of noodles . Sprinkle some parmesan cheese with  shavings of butter.  You will have your first layer completed. Repeat the process for the other layers.  End with a layer of sauce,   béchamel   and parmesan cheese. Put everything in the oven at 400F for forty five minutes covered with tin foil for the first 30 minutes. Remove tin foil for last ten to fifteen minutes for browning. When cooked remove and let stand for fifteen minutes before cutting, otherwise it will fall apart. Serve with red wine, perhaps Lambrusco or Sangiovese, which are typical wines of the region.