Béchamel Practices

I want to make some of the casserole-comfort foods of my youth but I want to avoid Cream of Mushroom soup. Any suggestions? – Hotdish

If Andy Warhol had been from the Mesabi Iron Range instead of Pittsburgh, Cream of Mushroom Soup would be the iconic can. AKA Lutheran binder, American Béchamel, Casserole Glue – Cream of Mushroom is better known for the company it keeps – more likely to be found in the vicinity of canned Green Beans, Tuna & Noodles and Ham & Potatoes, than in a bowl by itself.

The peculiar aspect of casseroles is how the bastardized versions of these dishes completely replaced their historical inspirations. Before there was Green Bean Casserole, Poor Man Stroganoff, Scalloped Potatoes there was Green Bean Allemande, Beef Stew and Gratin Dauphinois. Substituting for canned soup in recipes doesn’t require any reverse engineering; it is as easy as returning to the original preparation.

Béchamel is one of the mother sauces: A basic sauce that serves as a cornerstone for more complex preparations. Here, white roux and milk are cooked together to become the foundation for soups, soufflés and the base for more elaborate sauces like Mornay/cheese sauces and the casino buffet’s standard bearer: the Velouté /White Sauce. In the home kitchen, béchamel prevents cheese from separating into 2 distinct camps – lumps and oil as it melts – ditto if you want to get all retro-ee and whip up some fondue. In Italian cuisine, Salsa Balsamella, is found in lasagna or on top of manicotti where it browns up ever so nicely under the broiler.

Béchamel isn’t complicated; it just takes time to prepare. Be mindful béchamel is a white sauce - it is very important to keep the heat on low – I know your professional grade gas range is powerful enough to burn a hole in the ozone layer above your house, even so - low to medium-low heat for this recipe.

A Pint of Béchamel

2 Tablespoons Butter
2 T. Flour

2 cups milk
Seasonings* (Salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and/or nutmeg)

Warm the milk in microwave or stove until simmering/160ºf. (Cold milk will make lumps – room temperature milk will make fewer and smaller lumps)

Make a roux by adding the butter and together in a saucepan over low heat. Mix regularly with a wooden spoon until the flour and butter merge into a blonde paste. Continue to cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add warm milk to the roux, ¼ cup at a time while whisking vigorously. When half the milk is added return the pan to low heat on the stove. Continue to mix in milk over heat until it is the consistency of heavy cream.

*Season with a light hand: Because béchamel is a base, you will be flavoring the rest of the dish as you build on the sauce. And if just a hint of nutmeg is good, a harmonious high note to the milk’s bass – keep in mind, twice as much nutmeg isn’t twice as good.

At this point you can add grated cheese – 2-3 oz per pint of béchamel. If you want to stay close to the canned inspiration, ignore the cheese and add 8 oz of chopped mushrooms as you are bringing the roux together. Adventurous - How about 2 Tablespoons of sherry, tomato sauce or 1 T. of chopped garlic? A tablespoon of mustard along with 4 oz of cheddar would make a good rarebit.

Back in the day, having a basic sauce in a restaurant kitchen that would get used in half dozen ways throughout the day made sense. For the home kitchen, it just seems like an extra step. Still, knowing a few classics will really help keep the canned foods out of your diet.