Lately Snacking On: Onion Dip

Caramelized Onion Dip

Does anyone else have childhood memories of beige onion dip served alongside a bowl full of Fritos scoops? I was always a sucker for that combination. Here is an updated (perhaps more grown-up) take on onion dip. This one foregoes the onion soup packet instead using caramelized onions as the base. 

Caramelizing onions is a purposefully slow process to bring out the natural candy-like sweetness of the onions. It takes about 45 minutes for the sugars in the onions to fully breakdown & caramelize, but this is a pretty easy, hands-off process, I managed a shower and a few other household chores in the mean time.

ingredients:

1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil

8 oz sour cream

4 oz whipped cream cheese

2 sprigs thyme, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper, to taste
yield: ~1.5 cups

1. add onions & olive oil to a large non-stick skillet pan over low heat, lightly salt & feel free to add a couple grinds of fresh ground pepper. stir to coat the onions with olive oil.

2. keep an eye on the onions to make sure they do not dry out, if so, make sure the heat is on the lowest possible setting and feel free to add a little water into the pan.

3. the onions will cook for approximately 45 minutes until they are richly browned. they will loose their original shape & will shrink down to about 1/5 their original size in this process. 

4. once onions are ready, remove from heat & let cool.

5. combine caramelized onions, sour cream, cream cheese, thyme, garlic, cajun seasoning, and red pepper flakes. 

6. serve with thinly sliced wheat baguette or a hearty multi-grain cracker.

Leftover Caramelized Onions Suggestion:

Caramelized onions freeze well and are convenient to have on hand for homemade pizzas, tarts, or pastas, even sandwiches, omelettes and salads. You could easily caramelize 2+ onions with the intention of having leftovers.