Leeks in white sauce

This one I'm just copying pasting because I'm still digesting the leg of lamb.
I found this recipe here (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/preformleeks-in-white-sauceb-preform-663639.html) and I've been using it for quite some time. It is the best one I've found. Enjoy!

500ml milk 
2 cloves 
1 onion, peeled and chopped 
1 bay leaf 
salt and pepper 
75g butter 
50g flour 
150ml single cream 
freshly grated nutmeg

8 large leeks, trimmed of almost all their green parts, sliced into 5cm lengths and thoroughly washed.

Heat together the milk, cloves, onion, bay and a little salt. Simmer for a few minutes, cover and allow the flavours to mingle for 10 minutes. In another pan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Make a roux and gently cook the butter and flour together for a minute or so, but don't allow it to colour. Strain the milk into the roux and vigorously whisk together until smooth. On the lowest possible heat (preferably with a heat-diffuser pad), set the sauce to cook.

You might think that the sauce is very thick to begin with but, as it simmers, the texture will become silky and unctuous. Remember, cream is added later, too. Do not cover the sauce as it cooks, but stir from time to time with a wooden spoon and continue in this fashion for 20 minutes or so. Finally, add the cream, nutmeg and pepper, mix in thoroughly, check for salt and cook for a further 5 minutes. Cover and keep warm.

Switch the kettle on and put the leeks into a pan. When the water has boiled, pour it over the leeks and add a little salt. Bring back to the boil and cook them for between 5 and 10 minutes, depending upon how thick your leeks are; test with a small, sharp knife for tenderness. You don't want crunchy leeks; nor do you want sloppy ones. Drain, lay in a preheated, shallow, oven-proof dish and pour over the white sauce.

Roasted leg of lamb

This is a biggie! It's been such a long time since we had lamb. We moved back to Brazil and here people don`t really appreciate lamb... or goat.... or veal.
Anyway, I found lamb under "exotic meat" in our local supermarket and grabbed myself 2kg of a nice leg of lamb. Here's the way we roasted it today... It was marvelous.

You'll need

For the rosemary butter
3 big cloves of garlic
4-5 sprigs of rosemary
about 50g of butter
salt and black pepper

For the gravy
135mL of red wine
about 35g of butter
the same amount of flour
The meat juices from the roast

For the mint sauce
4 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

For the side dishes
check leeks in white sauce!
About 6 big potatoes
cooking oil
Carrots
Brussels sprouts

Start by removing the leg of lamb of the fridge about an hour before you roast it, to get to room temperature. Meanwhile prepare the rosemary butter by chopping or grating the garlic.Preheat the oven to 350C or gas mark 6. Mix it with the butter and add the finely chopped rosemary sprigs to the mix. Add salt and butter to taste. Mash it all with a fork to be very smooth. With a sharp knife or skewer make about 30 to 40 deep incisions on the meat, wide enough to fit your finger. Rub the butter mix all over and put it inside any crevasses and the incisions, to make sure the it penetrates deep.

Put it on a tray and cover loosely with tin foil for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let it roast for another 50 minutes for red meat of over an hour 15 minutes for thoroughly cooked lamb.

Remove the lamb and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving. Meanwhile prepare the gravy:

Heat up a heavy based pan and add the meat juices. Be careful for it will sizzle. Add the wine, the small knob of butter and the flour to thicken it. Reduce and stir until happy with the consistency.

If you want Auntie Bessy style potatoes:

Peel and cut the potatoes into big chunks. Cook it for 10 minutes. Drain the water, return them to the pan and shake it to round the edges. When you are half way though your roast put a tray on the bottom with cooking oil until really hot (be really careful!). Add the potatoes and be careful, it will sizzle. Stir then to get the oil all around and put it back on the bottom of the oven. After about 20-30 minutes turn them around to get that crisp layer all over. Remove them when the meat is ready.

When I add the potatoes, I like to add carrots to the tray with the leg of lamb, to give them the meat flavour.