Nistisimi Béchamel (Vegan)
Nistisimi Béchamel is a vegan substitute which can be used on top of Greek dishes such as pastitsio, moussakas, papoutsakia etc to make them vegan.
The Béchamel sauce was introduced to Greece at the beginning of the previous century by a Greek Chef, Nicolaos Tselementes.
I believe all of you know what béchamel is.
Béchamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is made from a white roux (butter and flour) and milk.
The Greek Béchamel is quite different as it contains eggs and cheese.
Can you imagine a béchamel sauce without butter, milk and eggs, to be rich and tasty and to be used by vegans and for Orthodox Lenten recipes?
This has been swirling into my head for quite some time now and I searched the internet to see if there were any béchamel recipes without eggs and milk.
I knew that I could make one using any plant based milk such as almond milk, coconut milk or soya milk and soya cheese but I tried them and did not like the taste.
The only recipe I did find was a recipe for a "nistisimi" (vegan) one was making a roux and adding vegetable stock.
This sounded very bland and unappealing to me .
I, therefore, decided to experiment and make my own version so that I can still enjoy a pastitsio or moussakas during lent.
If it didn’t work, the worse thing that could happen was to eat the rest of the dish without the béchamel.
I decided to combine a roux with extra virgin olive oil and flour, and a mild skordalia with mashed potatoes and almonds.
Although this béchamel seems to have a lot of ingredients, the result was still very light and tasty and a very healthy dish, compared to the classic béchamel which is very rich.
A few more ideas to use it, would be on top of stuffed eggplants, like papoutsakia or lasagna.
This vegan bechamel now brings vegan dishes to another level and you can now imagine how many other dishes you can make with this bechamel.
The recipe is included in my cookbook Mint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water, Flavours of Cyprus, Kopiaste!
Nistisimi Béchamel (Vegan)
Enjoy this essential creamy vegan Béchamel sauce to apply on your Greek dishes such as Pastitsio, Moussakas and Papoutsakia or on your casseroles, bakes, pasta and whatever else you can think of!
Ingredients
- 3 medium potatoes
- ½ cup blanched almonds
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
For the roux:
- 35 grams extra virgin olive oil
- 35 grams all-purpose flour
- About 3 cups of the potato water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- White pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Peel, wash and cut potatoes into smaller pieces Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer until the potatoes are soft.
- Reserve 3 cups of the boiling potato water and then drain.
- In a food processor add the almonds, garlic, olive oil and
vinegar and mix until they are pureed, adding a few tablespoons of the potato water, if necessary - In a separate saucepan prepare the roux. Heat the olive oil
over medium heat and mix in the flour, the salt, pepper and the nutmeg and keep mixing until the flour starts roasting and turns into a light brown colour - Add the potato water gradually and mix to get a thick sauce. (There might be some leftover water} Add the hot potatoes and with a hand mixer, puree them in the roux (or you can do this separately and combine)
- Add the puréed almonds and mix. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Notes
Serves 1 baking dish 17.5 x 25.5 cm
Nutrition Information
Yield 1 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 932Total Fat 87gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 73gCholesterol 0mgSodium 7434mgCarbohydrates 259gFiber 32gSugar 16gProtein 44g
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
I am sure that all of the people fasting are kissing your fingertips right now Sis. They will love to be able to have some of their favourite dishes using your bechamel sauce
Wow, that's an unuasual recipe! Really interesting! Thanks for sharing...
Cheers,
Rosa
That's brilliant Ivy! I would be sure to love it with mushrooms.
WOW Ivy! You are so creative! You need to write these recipes down and make a book!
Thanks for sharing your experimentation with us, Ivy. Bechamel sauce is so luscious, why not try making special versions of it? I'm all for it!
Very creative idea! 🙂
Wow wat a creativity Ivy...excellent bechamel with potatoes...
That sounds soooo yummy! I will surely try it. I make bechamel with milk, butter, flour and nutmeg - but no egg. This vegan one with almonds, potatos and olive oil is simply amazing!
Hmmm, interesting notion. I'll waiting to see more results with your Nistisimi Bechamel...you could be onto something.
A most interesting innovation on Bechamel. Sounds good to this vegetarian.:)
Ivey, I have to hug you for this recipe. Recently I made the bechamel & kept wondering if i could do wihtout dairy. This is just awesome!!
I love your chicken curry. My aunt used to make chicken curry which would have this exact light yellow color. I loved it & miss it.
Wow, Ivy, very impressive. Looks great. You can't go wrong with anything that starts with skordalia, in my mind. 🙂
I'll wait with Peter...
It looks great, I was just reading your pasticio recipe and I have always been curious about a completely vegan recipe. My friend loves pasticio, but recently became vegan and I was hoping to surprise her with something for her birthday and you saved me!!!
I can't wait to try this!
What a great read Ivy on Bechamel - will have to try this out.
Rosie x