BASIC ITALIAN WHITE SAUCE
(BESCIAMELLA)
1 Recipe= 4 ½ C. INGREDIENTS
8 T Unsalted Butter
¾ C Quick-mixing flour
4 C Milk
½ t. Fresh grated Nutmeg
½ t. Salt
I ALSO ADD
¼ C Parmesan Cheese
1 Beaten Egg
Basic sauce is used for layering lasagna, covering cannelloni, and casseroles in general. Full recipe makes enough for a large (12-14 servings) lasagna and is of medium consistency, a factor controlled by adding more or less flour.
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add the flour all at once and stir rapidly with a wire whisk until blended. When you use the quick mixing flour that has a granular feeling lumps never form. With reg. Flour the chance for lumps increases.
Heat the milk to scalding (just under a boil, when a skin has formed on top.) and add it all at once to the butter-flour mixture, stirring vigorously with a whisk. Continue cooking over med. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce has thickened and is smooth, about the consistency of a thin pudding. Add the nutmeg, salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
Cool the sauce for about 15 minutes before using. It becomes firmer as it cools.
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