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Heather's Dish

Faces of Beauty

Broccoli Penne Bechamel Bake

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You guys, the response to Faces of Beauty so far has been OVERWHELMING! I’m so amazed at y’alls stories and beautiful pictures, but even more so your hearts in wanting to help inspire others has rocked me to my core. Be sure to check out Gillian’s post today!

I think it should be obvious from yesterday’s post that I really do love butter.  I can’t believe that I spent all of those years hiding from it!  Let’s make up for lost time, shall we?

Now, let’s talk bechamel.  It’s one of the 4 grandes sauces and is used in French cooking specifically, but has variations all over the world.  Something I really like to use it in is lasagna rather than ricotta sometimes.  It’s this amazing, velvety, creamy, thick concoction that’s spiced with nutmeg and will probably make your eyes roll back in your head.  Probably.

The best recipe I’ve found is actually Mario Batali’s traditional bechamel.  Sometimes you just can’t update a classic, and I’m not going to challenge and Iron Chef!

MARIO BATALI’S BECHAMEL SAUCE

  • 5 Tbsp butter
  • 4 Tbsp flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

First things first, you have to melt the butter.  I recommend doing this over extremely low heat because if you burn the bechamel…well, let’s just say don’t!

While the butter is melting, boil some pasta.  I did a 1/2 pound of penne, but you could really use any kind you like.  The important thing is to only cook it for 2/3 of the time the box recommends.  You’ll be tossing it in the sauce and then baking, and no one likes mushy pasta.  Drain and set aside when it’s ALMOST al dente and you’ll be good to go!

Once the butter is melted add the flour.  You’ll want to have a whisk nearby to start stirring!  I have yet to meet anyone who really likes burned stuff, and like I said:  don’t burn the bechamel!

Oh Lord help me. Is it wrong to want to jump into a pool of perfectly cooked roux?

So yes…stir, stir, stir your little heart out.  But make sure you take a break to measure out your milk.  You’re going to need it after about 5-6 minutes of cooking the roux!

Might as well get your nutmeg handy as well!  Nutmeg is a super strong flavor, but I have come to adore it in bechamel and savory dishes.  It’s life-changing.

Once the roux starts to darken, pour in the milk and whisk it until thoroughly combined.  You’ll be getting a steam facial while you do this…don’t get scared, that’s totally supposed to happen.  Nothing wrong in combining self care and cooking, right?!

This is when you can finally take a little break with the stirring.  You’ll still need to do it every minute or so, but you gotta leave it alone and let it thicken up!  At first you’ll start seeing bubbles around the edges like the photo above, but very soon you’ll see the bubbles in the middle and the mixture will very clearly be thickening up!

It’s like magic, right?

Just wait til you taste it.

The bechamel is ready to go when you can stick a spoon in there and it coats the back of it.  You can still cook it down even further if need be, but this is the right thickness for the bake that we’re making today!

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the salt and the nutmeg.  Oh the nutmeg!

Fold in the 2 lbs frozen broccoli and the pasta (measurements for both are at the bottom of this post):

Then dump it all into a pan and sprinkle with cheese (parmesan’s the best in my opinion, although I actually used mozzarella last night) and top with fresh cracked pepper.  Cover the pan with foil.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes until the cheese on top is bubbly and brown.

What comes out of the oven at that point is the most magical, drool-worthy pasta/veggie bake you could imagine.

We served it with a simple chicken breast (cooked in salt, pepper, and 1 tsp olive oil).  When you have something truly amazing like this you only need a simple chicken side dish to go along with it 🙂

BROCCOLI PENNE BECHAMEL BAKE

  • 1/2 pound penne pasta
  • 2 lbs frozen or fresh broccoli florets
  • Mario Batali’s Bechamel Sauce
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese

_______________________________________________________________

Be sure to visit Faces of Beauty and submit your own!  Find the instructions here.

Happy Friday everyone!

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Comments

  1. Kristie says

    August 29, 2010 at 5:12 am

    Oooooh my gosh yum. I don’t think that meal could possibly get more perfect.

    Reply
  2. Rachael says

    August 28, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    Bechamel was one of the first things I learned how to cook (right after a proper roux was pounded into my head). Love it as the saucy bit in butternut squash lasagna!

    Reply
  3. Heather C says

    August 28, 2010 at 11:26 am

    I heart your butter posts, quite entertaining and screen lickin’ gooood 😉

    Reply
  4. Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says

    August 28, 2010 at 8:12 am

    I haven’t made bechamel in years – now I want to cook up some ASAP! Broccoli bake sounds too good to pass up!

    Reply
  5. Tristan | Enjoy Life says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:12 pm

    Love the thorough instructions! I could eat this every night of the week! Keep up the awesome work!

    Reply
  6. SheFit says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    YUM! I’ve never heard of this type of sauce. Sounds delicious

    Reply
  7. Emily says

    August 27, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    Love that the chicken is the side dish. 🙂 YUM

    Reply
  8. Matt says

    August 27, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Can I come over for dinner?

    Reply
  9. LaChelle @ SugarDuchess says

    August 27, 2010 at 2:01 pm

    Wow! Definitely bookmarking this. I’m always looking for new dinner ideas 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  10. R @ Learning As I Chop says

    August 27, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    That looks sooooo good

    Reply
  11. Tina says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:59 am

    So happy you are getting a good response for the Faces of Beauty! Hope you have fun this weekend.

    Reply
  12. Maren says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:55 am

    Oh my gawwwwd! I am all about this recipe.

    Reply
  13. KeepItSweet says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:31 am

    that looks so good!

    Reply
  14. Katie says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:26 am

    Mmmm… I don’t have much else to say

    Reply
  15. Estela @ Weekly Bite says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:22 am

    Oh my… this looks so decadent!! I love it!

    Reply
  16. Anna says

    August 27, 2010 at 11:10 am

    Mmmm, bechamel is my favorite…but I’ll be honest, it intimidates me!!! I’m always afraid I’m going to mess it up!

    Reply
  17. Kristy says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:48 am

    Your dish looks amazing!!! Def going to try it, yum!!! Thanks for sharing!!! 🙂

    Reply
  18. Stephanie @ Single in the City says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:29 am

    I <3 butter, too! This recipe looks sooo good!! I just found your blog yesterday and am excited to read your older posts. I'll also be contributing to your Faces of Beauty; what an empowering idea!

    Reply
  19. Joslyn @ missfitbliss says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:11 am

    I like how you used frozen broccoli! It’s a smart way to keep veggies preserved, I just never know what to do with it. Great dish!

    Reply
  20. couchpotatoathlete says

    August 27, 2010 at 9:00 am

    Heather that looks amazing! What a beautiful dish.

    Reply
  21. Stacey@https://stacey-healthylife.blogspot.com/ says

    August 27, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Such a pretty dinner.

    Reply
  22. Brittany (A Healthy Slice of Life) says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:48 am

    woo-wee, looks fancy! and delicious! Like something from a restaurant 🙂

    Reply
  23. glutenfreemuse says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:38 am

    oh.my.goodness 🙂 I will definitely need to try that sauce GF! I haven’t been to your faces of beauty site because it is blocked at work, but I’m hoping to get there soon!

    ~Alyssa

    Reply
  24. Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:33 am

    YUMMY! And it looks relatively easy! Although, I am still dreaming of those cherry pretzel brownies…

    Reply
  25. Salah says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:19 am

    wow you are a cooking queen!!!!! that looks so yummy 🙂

    Reply
  26. Kara @ MyWellnest says

    August 27, 2010 at 7:14 am

    You have the coolest dishes and utensils!

    Reply
  27. Summah says

    August 27, 2010 at 6:47 am

    Mmmmm, more butter! I may have to make this soon. I plan on making the brownies for a party this weekend!

    Reply
  28. Jessica @ How Sweet says

    August 27, 2010 at 6:00 am

    I looove bechamel sauce. But I’m sure that doesn’t come as a surprise.

    Reply

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