Besciamella (basic white sauce for lasagna or pasta al forno)

Ingredients:

1lt milk (semi-skimmed will produce a slightly less rich sauce)
100g butter
100g plain flour
1-2 pinches of ground nutmeg
1 bay leaf
salt and white pepper to taste

In one saucepan pour the milk, nutmeg, bay leaf, seasoning and place on medium heat. In another small pan, melt the butter then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon till it forms a smooth paste. As the milk comes to near boiling, it will form a foamy ring leaving the sides of the pan, turn down the heat and tip in the flour paste and whisk vigorously with a hand whisk till smooth. Continue to simmer for 2-3 minutes to cook out the flour. At his point, I add a small handful of grated Parmesan and stir in.

N.B. This method is the way I make it and causes much upset in general as normally you would add the hot milk to the flour paste (roux) a little at a time, beating till all the milk is incorporated. My method is much quicker especially when making larger quantities. As long as you don't let the milk fully boil before you add the roux this method still gives a perfect smooth sauce.