Caramelized Onion Dip
American onion dip is usually a packet of soup mix stirred into sour cream, salty and beige. Built from scratch it is a much better thing. Two onions cooked down slow and sweet carry all the flavor the packet was faking, soaked cashews blended with plant yogurt stand in for the sour cream with the same tang and richness, and a teaspoon of tamari deglazes the pan for a savory depth at almost no sodium. The only patience it asks is the half hour it takes to caramelize the onions properly, which is not a step to rush. Fold the onions in whole rather than blending them, chill it, and serve with raw vegetables or whole grain crackers.
Ingredients
- 2 wholes Yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Raw cashews, soaked 2 hours, drained
- 1/2 cup Plain plant yogurt, unsweetened
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp Chives, chopped
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
- 1 tsp Low-sodium tamari
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Cook the sliced onions in a dry nonstick pan over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water whenever they stick, until deep golden and jammy, 25 to 30 minutes. This slow caramelizing is the whole flavor of the dip, since the sugars in the onion brown into a sweetness no raw onion or powder can fake.
- Add the garlic and the tamari in the last minute. The tamari deglazes the browned bits off the pan and adds a savory depth for almost no sodium, scraping every bit of that flavor back into the onions.
- Blend the soaked cashews with the yogurt and lemon juice until completely smooth. Soaked cashews blend into a cream as rich as sour cream, and the yogurt and lemon give it the tang that makes a dip taste like a dip.
- Fold most of the caramelized onions and the chives into the cashew cream, saving a spoonful of each for the top. Folding rather than blending keeps threads of whole onion in every scoop, which is the texture a smooth dip would miss.
- Chill at least 1 hour before serving. The rest lets the onion flavor spread through the cream and thickens the dip to a proper scoop, so it clings to a vegetable or a chip instead of sliding off.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 120 calories, 4 g protein, 2 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
