Parmesan Bechamel Food

BéCHAMEL

Steps:

• Put the milk in a glass measuring cup and microwave until just warm, about 1 minute.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk until combined. Continue to whisk until the mixture bubbles a bit, but does not brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Gradually pour in the warm milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, whisking often and occasionally running a rubber spatula around the edges of the saucepan to prevent burning. When the sauce is boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened to a nice coating consistency, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan, if using, and stir until the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

PARMESAN BECHAMEL

Steps:

• Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Slowly add milk and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.

BASIC BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the flour until smooth. Continue stirring as the flour cooks to a light, golden, sandy color, about 7 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in milk until thickened by the roux. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering until the flour has softened and not longer tastes gritty, 10 to 20 minutes, then season with salt and nutmeg.

PARMESAN BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel and finely chop the vegetables. Add the vegetables, spices and milk to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Allow flavors to infuse for 30 minutes.
• Over low heat, melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from heat and stir in flour. Return to heat and cook roux for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Reheat flavored milk to almost boiling and strain hot milk into bowl with a spout (like a 2 cup glass measuring cup) pressing against vegetables to extract their juices. (Reserve vegetables for pasta).
• Remove roux from heat and slowly blend in the hot milk, stirring vigourously. Place back on heat and bring to a boil stirring continously until sauce thickens.
• Stir in parmesan cheese until melted and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Salt and Pepper to taste.

LASAGNA WITH BECHAMEL

Steps:

• Meat Sauce: Brown ground meat until no longer pink. Drain off fat, if any, and add the white wine. Cook, stirring bits up from the bottom, until the wine has evaporated. Add spaghetti sauce, bring to a simmer, move to back burner, turn heat to lowest setting, cover.
• Bechamel Sauce: In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk flour into butter and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, continuing to whisk until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring water to a boil and prepare dry noodles according to package directions. If using no-boil noodles, take boiling water off heat, add noodles, cover and let sit for 5 minutes before assembling lasagna. I left the no-boil noodles in the hot water during assembly, using tongs to grab, drain and layer noodles as I went.
• Assembly: Use 8x8, 7x11 or similar sized pan. Line bottom of pan with noodles, add about 1/2 cup of meat sauce, then layer about 1/2 cup of bechamel sauce on top. Repeat these layers until all the sauces are used up. Sprinkle the top layer of bechamel with parmesan cheese. Don't fret if there are leftover noodles.
• Bake 40 - 50 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

THICK BECHAMEL SAUCE WITH PARMESAN AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan.
• Add flour and cook until foamy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the warm milk, I usually warm it in the microwave oven, and whisk constantly.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Add parmesan cheese and tomato pesto. Stir until cheese has melted.
• Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.