White Sauce (Bechamel) for Pasta

Instructions

1. 01

   

   Melt the butter over medium heat

   Place the 30 g of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it melt completely without browning. If it turns brown, the flavor changes; pull the pan off the heat for a few seconds and lower the temperature.

2. 02

   

   Add the flour and cook the roux for 2 minutes

   Add the 30 g of flour all at once and stir with a whisk until you get a smooth paste: that is the roux. Cook it for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to remove the raw flour taste; it should smell faintly of biscuit without taking on color.

3. 03

   

   Whisk in the cold milk gradually

   Pour in the 500 ml of cold milk in 3 or 4 additions, whisking vigorously after each one until fully incorporated before adding more. This contrast of hot roux and cold milk is what prevents lumps; the most common mistake is dumping in all the milk at once and stopping whisking.

4. 04

   

   Cook until it thickens (5-8 minutes)

   Raise to medium heat and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom so it does not stick. The sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon and running a finger through it leaves a clean trail.

5. 05

   

   Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper

   Off the heat, add the pinch of nutmeg plus salt and white pepper to taste, and mix well. For a mornay sauce, stir in the 50 g of grated cheese now and mix until melted.

6. 06

   

   Serve immediately over the pasta

   Toss the sauce with freshly cooked pasta and serve right away: bechamel thickens as it sits. If you need to wait a few minutes, cover it with plastic wrap touching the surface so it does not form a skin, then loosen it with a splash of milk.