Béchamel & its Derivatives

The classic sauce most commonly made badly is the béchamel, but it is easy to perfect provided a moment is spent in measuring the ingredients. The velouté sauce is the béchamel’s cousin, if you like, and varies in calling for a quantity of stock rather than all milk. Velouté means velvety, a quality that is sometimes enhanced by a liaison of cream and egg yolk added at the end. Both béchamel and velouté sauces are for everyday cooking. For example, the former may be augmented with cheese for a cauliflower mornay and the latter clothe a poached chicken breast scattered with some fresh herbs.