A few years ago I wouldn’t have made this dip, and that would’ve been a shame. Onions were another food on my “do not eat” list and had been since I was a child. I deemed them “icky” and didn’t want them near anything that went into my mouth. Having to eat a dish that included big hunks of onions in it was, to me, akin to having a root canal. Seriously, this is how much I disliked onions.
However, when I started to make my own tomato sauces and pureed soups several years ago, I decided that I would try to be adult about it and grudgingly included the onions in the recipes because I could blend them up and wouldn’t have to have big pieces of onion in my food. To my surprise, I found that the onions added great flavor. Looking back, I think that what I didn’t like was raw onions. The strong taste, the texture, and the crunch of biting into a half cooked onion still don’t appeal to me, but now I regularly include larger pieces of (fully cooked) onions in soups and such. Progress!
Given my history with the humble onion, you can understand why making caramelized onion dip from scratch was a big step for me. Yes, I know that caramelized onions are a completely different beast than raw onions. It was just the idea of it. But when I stopped eating sugar I could no longer eat my favorite, Helluva Good French Onion Dip, which includes sugar, MSG, and various other banned substances, and I really, really wanted some onion dip.
WARNING: If you make this dip, you are going to want to put it on everything: chips, crudite, chicken, burgers, and you may even find yourself digging in with a spoon. I only did the spoon thing once. Well, maybe twice. Stop judging me, I had to taste it in its pure form!
Notes: Since most mayonnaise contains sugar, I made my own from this great tutorial. Making your own mayonnaise is actually pretty easy and really fun!
Ingredients
2 large onions, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt (more to taste, if needed)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder (optional)
Directions
1. In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil over low heat. Add sliced onions and salt. Cook onions, stirring often, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until the onions are tender and brown. The browning signifies that the sugars in the onions are caramelizing. Be careful not to cook the onions too long, as they will become too dark and will taste bitter. Remove from heat and cool.
2. Puree cooled onions in a food processor. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, and black pepper and pulse until all ingredients are blended. Taste the dip and, if more onion flavor is desired, add the onion powder. The dip can be served right away or chilled in a container with an air tight lid for up to two weeks, but it probably won’t last that long!
Posted in Dips, Food, Gluten Free | 4 Comments »
I made this dip tonight, and it’s amazingly delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
posted: April 3rd, 2009 at 12:33 amGlad that you liked it, Lindsey!
posted: April 4th, 2009 at 3:06 pmThat just looks amazing. I think i might just go and make some right now!
posted: March 31st, 2010 at 10:27 amI feel exactly the same way about onions…..raw onions that is. I can eat fully cooked ones in soup or dishes, but can’t take biting into one that is somewhat crunchy. This recipe sounds yummy yummy yummy!!
posted: April 7th, 2011 at 12:09 am