Onion dip. Fascinating little culinary construct. You see, at its core you’ve got a suspension of dairy, usually sour cream or some mayonnaise base, acting as a stabilizing medium. Then you introduce caramelized onion particles, which disperse throughout the mixture. From a microscopic perspective it’s actually quite remarkable. Tiny onion granules expanding, releasing sugars and sulfur compounds… interacting with the creamy matrix to produce that distinctive savory aroma. And when a potato chip enters the system, well! You get a structural scoop effect. The chip acts like a delivery platform, transporting the dip efficiently to the taste receptors. Oh my. Yes. Excellent flavor balance. Tangy, slightly sweet, with that mellow onion warmth.

Saved by Onion Dip

Ingredients

3 yellow onions
1 red onion
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup Vincent Vega Mayonnaise
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 sweet Vidalia onion
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup flour
1 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Using a mandolin, slice the yellow and red onions as thin as possible and place into a saucepan with a 1/4 cup of water, olive oil, and salt. Cook onions with the cover of the pan slightly ajar over medium low heat, stirring the onions every 5 minutes to prevent them from burning on the bottom of the pan, for about 25 minutes or until the onions are caramelized brown and reduced down to about 1 cup. Remove from heat and allow onions to come back down to room temperature.
In a food processor, add the caramelized onions, sour cream, Vincent Vega Mayonnaise, thyme, onions powder, garlic powder and white pepper. Puree the mixture in short pulses, about ten, until combined but not completely smooth. Refrigerate mixture for four hours to overnight for flavors to combine.
When ready to serve the dip, heat the vegetable oil in a small sauce pan to 350 degrees F. Slice the sweet onion on a mandolin as thin as possible. Combine the flour and cayenne and toss the sliced onions to thinly coat in the flour mixture. Fry the onions in the vegetable oil in batches for about 30 seconds per batch or until onions are golden brown and crunchy. Remove fried onions from oil and allow to drain on a paper towel, season immediately with salt.
Take onion dip out of the refrigerator and adjust seasoning with salt as needed. Place dip in a serving bowl and top with crispy fried onions.
Serve with chips or crudité.