Here’s a fussy but good Food & Wine dip recipe that’s perfect for stout chips, crostini and crudités.
True to the name, there are five types of onions in it: sweet, yellow, red, shallots and scallions (green). It does take a bit of time to make (slicing onions), but it’s worth it. I got a lot of good feedback from the guests to whom I served it.
Note that it’s really important to quarter the large onions before slicing them. If you don’t, the onion pieces will be too big, making scooping up the dip a sloppy mess.
What you’ll need
- 3T extra-virgin olive oil
- 2T unsalted butter
- 1 large sweet onion (such as Vidalia), quartered and thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 1 medium-size yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 medium-size red onion, quartered and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 4 medium shallots, halved and thinly sliced (about 11/2 cups)
- 0.5t 1 kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 scallions, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1.5 cups sour cream
- 0.25 cups mayonnaise
- 2t garlic powder
- 0.25t cayenne pepper
- Black pepper, to taste
What to do
Heat the oil and butter in a large, deep frypan (cast iron, if possible) over medium-high until the butter melts. Add the sweet onion, yellow onion, red onion, shallots, and salt, then cook, stirring occasionally and folding onions into each other until barely softened and just starting to brown—about 12 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized—about 35 minutes. Add the scallions about halfway through the 35 minutes. If the onions start to stick to the frypan or brown too quickly, add a splash of water to the onions and mix it in.
When the onions are caramelized, transfer them to a large bowl, placing the cream cheese on top of the onion pile. Let the onions cool completely—30 – 60 minutes.
When the onions have cooled, stir the cream cheese into the them, ensuring that the cheese is fully incorporated. Now add the sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and cayenne to the onion mixture, stirring well to combine. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and chill at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours or overnight.
Food & Wine says the dip can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container in refrigerator. I’m not sure why only one day. It should stay good for about 3 days after you prepare it.
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