Starter… sounds almost like “to be or not to be” or maybe I should rather say “to eat or not eat”. I can already see myself sitting in my favourite restaurant and having this internal debate, but to be honest with you I usually don’t go for the starter. My stomach cannot fit both- starter and main. And it’s true, I’m more of a “main course” person anyway. However I realize that for many of you a nicely prepared starter is an important part of the meal and it can only make your stomach going even wilder then you planned. I prepare starters on big occasions ONLY- I’m sure you also experienced one of those dinners where you have your aunts, or uncles, or in a more dramatic scenario your partner’s family members! And it is you who cook! Well in this case what happens at my place is, since I always prepare something rather difficult as a main- on purpose of course, it’s nice to see the face of your boyfriends’ aunt telling you “oh I didn’t know she could actually cook”. So in order to spread safely my forces I prepare an easy starter. Like the one I’m about to tell you. Leek is a great vegetable and highly unappreciated for some reason. Now when I think of it I only use it for this particular recipe too, and I guess I should change that. This starter is probably the easiest you’ve ever made and one of the fastest too. I hope you will enjoy it. If you like having aperitif before your dinner, you can also use this recipe. Once the rolls are ready just cut them into smaller pieces and serve with cherry tomatoes. They will be perfect, I promise.

Ingredients

For 2-3 people, preparation time- 10-15 min, cooking time 30 min, oven temp 180 C

1. 2-3 leeks
2. bacon- lard- it depends how many rolls you want- each piece is for one roll, please ask the butcher to cut them thin

Preparation

That’s easy. Wash the leek and cut it as on the picture below. As you can see I use only the white part of leek. Next step you cut the leek in half- so out of one you make two, and then you cut them in half once again. Remember to peel off the first layers as these don’t get soft even after 30 min in the oven, and it only spoils the final effect. At this point you can also start preheating the oven.

Once you prepared leeks you can proceed with bacon. You need to wrap leeks with slices of bacon like on this picture.

When all is wrapped with bacon, place your rolls on the kitchen foil, before you place them in the oven.

I never use any spices for this starter. Remember that bacon is salty anyway, and there is no need to use salt. I guess you could use red pepper or even chili pepper just to make it more spicy if you like it this way. After 30 min rolls are ready. Serve hot or cold- they are always good!