Cheesy Leek Dip with Crostini

Prep time: 15 mins  
Cooking time: 8 mins for Crostini + 20 mins for dip
Serves: 

Ingredients

• 1 Baguette, thinly sliced
• Roughly a ¼ cup of olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 leek, sliced in half lengthways and diced
• 2 tablespoons of paprika
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 200gm of cheddar, grated
• 250gm of cream cheese, allow to come to room temperature
• 60gm of Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 1 spring onion, finely diced
• 1 rasher of bacon, finely diced

Method 

1. To make the crostini, preheat the oven to 180C fan grill and very thinly slice the
   baguette. Lay slices on a sheet pan with baking paper and cover both sides in
   a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Toast in the oven for roughly 4 minutes each side
   or until browned and crispy. Leave the oven on the same setting for the
   cheese mixture.
   

2. Slice the leek in half lengthways and thinly dice. Place the leek into a bowl and
   cover with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper.
   

3. Heat butter in a pan over medium heat and fry leeks for roughly 10 minutes
   until nicely caramelised.
   

4. Combine leeks, cream cheese, cheddar (reserving around a ¼ for topping
   later) and Parmigiano Reggiano and mix. If the cheese isn’t mixing well, put it
   in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to further soften the cheese.
   

5. Place the cheese and leek mixture in a baking dish and top with the
   remaining cheddar. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the top layer of
   cheddar is nicely crisped.
   

6. Meanwhile, very thinly dice the bacon and cook in the same pan used for the
   leeks until nice and crispy.
   

7. Remove the cheesy leek mixture from the oven and let it rest for a few
   minutes before topping with crispy bacon and spring onion

8. Serve with the crostini on the side and enjoy!