METHOD
1. For the red wine gravy, sauté the carrot, onion, leek, celery, the strip of smoked bacon, the pear and the bay leaf, thyme and garlic. Add the red wine, port and tomato paste. Then add the veal stock. Let this reduce until a nice gravy forms. Strain and season further with piccalilli, pepper and salt if necessary.
2. Clean the leeks and cut them in half. Cook the leeks in the chicken stock, butter, bay leaf, mace and some salt and pepper. Remove the leeks from the broth and let cool.
3. Meanwhile, make the béchamel sauce. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the flour and mix well. To this add the chopped shallot and mace. Gradually add the milk and broth until the sauce is completely smooth. Cook the bechamel sauce over low heat for about 5 minutes to let the sauce thicken a bit. Remove the sauce from the heat and strain it. Finally, stir in a generous splash of cream.
4. Remove the outer layer of the leeks. Cover the leeks with some bechamel sauce and grated cheese. Place the leeks in the oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes to au gratin.
5. Salt and pepper the meat and fry it briefly all around, then place it on a rack in a preheated oven at 180 degrees to cook to 42 degrees core temperature. Use a meat thermometer to determine this.
6. Cut thick French fries from the potatoes. Wash them, dry them and deep fry them until golden brown.
7. Place the gratinated leeks on one half of the plate. Slice the meat and place on the other half. Place the baked fries on top of the leeks. Serve the red wine gravy with piccalilli separately.
