Bechamel Sauce

One of the benefits of growing up in an Italian town was being exposed to a variety of Italian cuisines. We grew up with the southern red spicy and the northern white sauces. Alfredo and Béchamel are two of the most well known white sauces. Both are
easy and quick to make. Although the white sauces are made from readily available
ingredients, they gave an elegance to any dish.

Ingredients

2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs unbleached flour
1 cup of whole milk
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Melt the butter over a medium low heat burner, but do not brown. Stir in the flour and
constantly whisk over low heat until the edges slightly bubble, but do not brown.
Whisk in half of the milk. After about a good minute of whisking, add the remainder
of the milk. Now add the salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg. Bring to a boil and
then quickly reduce to low heat and simmer for no more than three minutes. Remove from heat and it is ready to serve.

During the last few minutes of whisking, you may stir in some good parmesan cheese.
Add cheddar cheese and this becomes a great cheese sauce.

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