Caramelized Onion and White Bean Dip

I collect recipes.

As we speak, there are 128 "must try" recipes in my inbox, patiently waiting to be selected, all neatly filed in folders like chicken, crockpot, and chocolate cake. Because really, who doesn't need four chocolate cake recipes?  (Should I mention I'm not really big on chocolate and don't really like baking?)

I really like to cook and I try to fix new dishes often. It's hard not to fall back on the old stand-bys, though, especially during the week. So, when we had some friends over this past weekend, I vowed to make all new recipes - like the edamame salad I posted yesterday.

At first, everyone thought this Caramelized Onion and White Bean Dip was hummus. And while it had a similar texture, the beans have a much more subtle flavor than chick peas and the onions were silky and sweet. It paired perfectly with potato chips - salty and sweet, anyone??

One down, 127 to go!

Ingredients:

• 6 large sweet yellow onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 T butter 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1 can (15 oz.) white beans, lightly drained
• olive oil and black pepper for serving

Method:

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat - choose one with a lid.
2. Add sliced onions and 1/2 tsp salt. Shake pan lightly to mix.
3. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until onions begin giving up their liquid and soften slightly.
4. Stir.
5. Re-cover and cook an additional 10 minutes, until onions have reduced in volume by about one-third.
6. Remove cover and cook for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 mins., until onions are very reduced and toffee colored, stirring every 10 minutes and scraping any browned bits into the mixture as you go.
7. Set aside to cool slightly.
8. Meanwhile, add drained white beans to a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. Add 3/4 cup of the caramelized onions and process until combined. Season to taste with additional sea salt and pepper. Dice an additional 1/4 cup of the caramelized onions and scatter over the top of the dip. Reserve the rest of the onions for another batch or recipe.
9. Remove dip to serving bowl and drizzle with good olive oil and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Serve with veggies, pita chips, or - best of all - potato chips.

The six onions barely fit in my largest skillet.

After 5 minutes, they had given off much of their liquid and were already reducing.

Ten minutes more, and they were on their way to caramelized goodness.

They cooked down to about two cups of sweet, sticky deliciousness.

Would it be wrong to just dig in and eat these with a spoon?

I made some grilled cheese and ham sandwiches for lunch while the onions were caramelizing, so I snuck a few and added them to our sandwiches. The sweetness went really well with the ham and Swiss. Some thinly sliced Granny Smith apple and mustard would have put them over the top. Unfortunately, that didn't occur to me until after lunch.

Source: The Pig and The Quill

Roasted Garlic and Sriracha Hummus {My 100th post!}

It took me a little longer to get to this point than I expected it would, but I'm so excited to publish my 100th post!

This recipe nearly leapt off the screen when I saw it on Zite (the news aggregator app anyone with a smart phone or tablet should check out).

Roasted garlic? Sriacha? Hummus?  Yes, yes, and yes! Super easy to put together and so fresh tasting. I may never buy hummus again!

Ingredients:

• 2 whole heads of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
• 2/3 cup olive oil, divided
• pinch of salt
• 28 oz.  can of chickpeas, drained and well-rinsed
• 1/4 cup tahini (I found this in the international aisle at the grocery store)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp. sriracha

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Place the garlic bulbs in a small glass casserole dish. Add1/3 cup of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir and place back into the oven for 15 minutes more, uncovered. Let the bulbs cool completely for about an hour. Reserve any of the leftover oil that may remain in the casserole dish.
2. Rinse and drain chickpeas very well and transfer directly to a food processor.
3. Once the garlic bulbs are completely cooled, remove the skins and discard them. Place the garlic, any leftover olive oil, plus the 1/3 cup remaining olive oil into the food processor with the chickpeas. Pulse until very smooth, about a minute.
4. Add in the tahini, salt and sriracha. Pulse for about a minute more. If not using immediately, refrigerate and allow to sit out at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Hummus is tastiest when served at room temperature. 

Source: Olives for Dinner