Kiss Me if You Dare Onion Dip

If I’m completely honest, that mayo or sour cream based French onion dip (one package of dip mix plus a carton of sour cream, I think?) wasn’t something I made all that often or bought all that often in my pre-allergen days.  But I liked it at parties, and maybe that was enough for me back then?  I don’t know.

But last year, I wanted onion dip.  With potato chips — salty, greasy, oniony madness.  I tried a few things, and when I still ate soy, tofu-based sour cream with a packet of stuff wasn’t too bad.  Some of the mixes are free of some allergens, but reading the ingredients so carefully is a real turn off, honestly.   So.  Onion dip.  Now that soy is out and I really don’t want to use a packaged mix, it was time to come up with a good substitute based as much as possible on real foods.

Earth Balance, refugeof the dairy-free for decent, actually dairy-free margarine, has come out with a vegan AND soy-free mayonnaise!  You can read our review of this miracle HERE.  I am going to assume that this recipe will more-or-less work with regular mayo, or any of the vegan versions that contain soy.  It’s been tested only with Earth Balance mindful mayo because neither of us eat those others.

As wonderful as the mayo substitute is, a dip based on mayo alone, to be eaten with thick, ridged greasy and salty potato chips seemed overkill, so the base of this is actually pureed canned cannellini beans, with mayo-sub added for creaminess.  The onion flavor comes from scallions and caramelized onions.  This is onion dip to revel in.  Even if it doesn’t photograph like anything other than a dip.

Kiss Me if You Dare Onion Dip

First, get on caramelizing your onions.  You want a softball-sized onion or two smaller ones, and if you can get a sweet onion (Maui, Vidalia, Walla Walla), it will be even better.  Cut it in quarters and slice it thinly.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  I always use my cast iron, which is 12 inches, and I need to do two rounds of this.  You want a good sloppy coat of oil over the bottom of the pan, heated until shimmering, and add only enough onions for a single layer.  Add a good sprinkle of salt, 1/2 teaspoon or so for my pan size.

If you’ve never caramelized onions, it takes some time to do it right.  I could tell you all about it, but I’m going to kick you over to Slate, as Tom Socca’s already covered it.

Set the onions aside to cool.  I do not drain the oil off, as this dip is supposed to be rich.

Into your food processor (or blender, if you have a high powered one), add:

• 1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 scant cup of Earth Balance Mindful Mayo, original
• 3-4 cloves of roasted garlic
• 1-2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, fresh-squeezed if you can

Spin it through the food processor until all smooth and well combined.  IF you are using a blender, I’d suggest doing the beans first, and then adding the mayo as a second step.

Add the onions and pulse until they are chopped up and well mixed in to your dip.

Dump dip into a serving bowl, and mix in about 1/4 cup of chopped scallions, green and light green parts only, reserving some for garnish if you wish.  Refrigerate for a few hours before serving with lots of salty potato chips.  Ruffles are my choice.

Kiss Me if You Dare Onion Dip

• 1 softball-sized sweet onion, quartered and sliced thin
• 2 Tablespoons (+) olive oil (not extra-virgin) or canola oil
• about 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup Earth Balance Mindful Mayo, original
• 3-4 cloves of roasted garlic
• 1-2 Tablespoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 bunch of scallions, sliced thin, green and light green parts only

Caramelize onions, then mix everything else in a food processor or high-speed blender, adding onions last, and garnishing with some of the green scallions if you remember.

Enjoy!