Description
The Real Green Goddess
If you’re new to béchamel sauce or just looking for a little inspiration for something new to do with your leftover asparagus (that’s slowly dying in the bottom of your fridge), make this tasty green béchamel for dinner tonight (or freeze it to make that lasagna you’ve been wanting to try this weekend)!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes (70g)
- 9 tablespoons 00 (or all-purpose flour) (70g)
- 3 3/4 cups milk (875g)
- 5 ounces tender fresh asparagus, blanched (140g)
- 3/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt, or to taste (3-3.5g)
- whole nutmeg freshly grated, to taste
Instructions
- Blanch the asparagus + purée it. Wash and trim the asparagus leaving only the tender part and discard any tough pieces. Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add 5 ounces (140g) of asparagus to the water and blanch for approximately 1-2 minutes until asparagus has turned bright green. Immediately remove the asparagus from the boiling water, and drop them straight into the bowl of a food processor, or blender with about 1/2 cup of the milk. Process until you have a fairly smooth consistency and add the purée to a pot with the remaining milk. Season with salt and freshly grated nutmeg to taste.
- Heat the asparagus-milk mixture. Heat the asparagus-milk mixture over medium heat until nice and hot without ever boiling it. Turn off the heat while you make the roux.
- Prepare the roux + make the béchamel sauce. In a medium-sized pot add the butter and melt over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour a little at a time whisking constantly to remove any flour lumps. Continue whisking and stirring until the flour is cooked and the roux is lightly golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). When the roux is golden brown, turn the heat down to low add one ladle full of the asparagus-milk mixture, and whisk vigorously. Continue adding the asparagus milk mixture one ladle at a time until it’s all added. Continue whisking constantly until the béchamel is smooth and lump-free. At this point, the béchamel will be smooth, but somewhat runny. Continue cooking and whisking a few minutes longer until the béchamel starts to thicken and create ribbons when dropped from a spoon. When the béchamel is ready it will coat the back of a spoon. Season with more salt and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Use immediately, or cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper making sure it is in direct contact with the béchamel to prevent it from forming a “skin”. Enjoy using this béchamel in this Italian pasticcio (lasagna), or substitute for classic béchamel or white sauce in dishes like Lasagna Bolognese, etc.
Notes
- If you want this béchamel sauce to be completely smooth without tiny bits of asparagus, use a Vitamix to ensure it’s as smooth as glass. I don’t mind the small bits of asparagus and see no reason to break out the Vitamix, but feel free to do so.
- If you need to see a photo of what “coating the back of a spoon” looks like, see the step-by-step recipe photos in the main post.
- Save vegetable end pieces and peels for making stock. I always save my discarded vegetable peels and ends in the freezer and use them to make vegetable and meat stocks weekly. There’s no point in throwing these parts out when they can be used to make something nutritious and delicious.
- You may freeze the béchamel for later use, just be sure to place a piece of wax paper, parchment, or plastic wrap in direct contact with the sauce to prevent a “skin” from forming and to avoid ice crystals.
- If you cook the béchamel too long and it becomes too thick, add warmed milk to it a little at a time until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
- If you want a thicker or thinner béchamel, you control this aspect by how long you cook the béchamel once all the milk has been added. Cook it less for a thinner sauce, and more for a slightly thicker sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Sauces + Spreads + Dips
- Method: Stovetop + Food Processor
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
