Leeks In Cheese Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 large leeks
450 ml milk
110 g grated cheddar cheese, divided
25 g flour
25 g unsalted butter
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 200\u00b0C.
Cut the root-ends from the leeks, and cut them in 5 cm (2 inch) pieces, keeping only the white parts and the tender green inner parts; wash well in water.
Place the leeks in boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes; drain well, then arrange in a baking dish (I use a 1 1/2 liter size that is 14 1/2 cm square).
As your leeks are simmering, put the milk, flour, butter, and bay leaf in a saucepan, and mix well.
Bring to the boil, whisking continuously; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture thickens.
Add garlic powder, salt, mustard powder and nutmeg, then 3/4 of the grated cheese, whisking until it is completely melted.
Remove the bayleaf, then pour the cheese sauce over the leeks.
Top with remaining cheddar, and bake 20-30 minutes, until golden.
If possible, let stand 5-10 minutes before serving to allow the cheese sauce to further\"set\" and to avoid burning your mouth.