Onion Dip

I told you all about my love for onion dip when I was a kid when I shared my version of Mark Bittman's Veggie Dip. I also shared another dip recipe - Spinach Leek Dip - which is also delicious.  But sometimes nothing quite replaces classic onion dip served with potato chips - times like my munchkin's 3rd birthday party!  Unless, of course, by "classic" you think I mean from soup mix, in which case this might be the first time you're reading this blog...ingredients like partially hydrogenated soybean oil, MSG, and disodium inosinate are not part of my cooking these days.  But I have proven yet again that ingredients like these are DEFINITELY not necessary to make yummy treats.  This onion dip, amazingly enough, gets most of its flavor from real onions.  And while part of me thinks it's really sad that we've gotten to the point that people were surprised that I could make onion dip without a powder, I was also so excited to be able to share this treat with our guests, knowing that I had managed to serve delicious food without compromising my ingredient standards OR creating a ton of work for myself. 

Onion Dip

adapted from Food Network

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups diced onions (approximately 1 large onion)
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt*

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until they are very well carmelized, approximately 20 minutes or longer (turn the heat down if the onions start to burn - this is best done as a slow process.  The onions don't need much attention, though, so plan to do this when you have other things going on in the kitchen!).  

Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions.  At this point you can call the dip done, but I chose to puree using my immersion blender to create a smoother dip that was less likely to offend any 3-year-olds (or grown-ups) who might not appreciate the pieces of onion.

Refrigerate the dip overnight.  Stir and adjust seasoning before serving.

* You could skip the yogurt and just use more sour cream, but I did not think the yogurt compromised the taste or texture at all, so I think it's a nice way to lighten this up a little bit.  On the flip side, you could also experiment with using more yogurt to replace the sour cream and/or mayo - if you do, let me know how it goes!