Mushroom and Pancetta Dip

This perfect dip or light lunch on toast takes minutes to make and can be made in advance.

Spread on toast with a slice of crispy bacon on top and served as a light summers lunch perhaps with a green salad.

300g standard white mushrooms
splash of olive oil
1 crushed garlic clove or 1 teaspoon of my previously mentioned roasted garlic purée
1 dessert spoon of mixed dried herbs
50g of pancetta or smoked bacon roughly chopped into small pieces
30g of any soft spreading cheese like a Philadelphia or light goats cheese

Roughly finely chop the mushrooms and place in a medium size frying pan over a medium heat along with the olive oil, crushed garlic and mixed herbs. Leave to sweat down for approximately 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Place the cooked mushroom mixture in a food blender or processor with the soft cheese and blitz until fairly smooth. Don’t blitz for too long as you don’t want it to become too liquid. If it’s too thick however you can just add a few more splashes of olive oil or a teaspoon of water then transfer to your serving bowl of choice.
Put the chopped pancetta or bacon in the same frying pan as you used to cook to mushrooms and gently fry for 10 minutes until slightly golden.
Stir the bacon into the mushroom mixture and chill.
Spread on some toast with some more cooked bacon or use as a dip with some grissinis or raw veg chopped into bit size pieces.