We’re smack dab in the heart of Vidalia onion season – those amazing sweet onions that we wait for all winter long. We eat them as is, just removing the skin and diving right in, or add them to recipes, as they give just the right amount of sweetness and oniony flavors to sauces and savory dishes, such as baked Vidalia onion dip.
On occasion, I enjoy making a dip such as this one and serving it for dinner with a salad. It makes for a very casual meal that’s perfect for a weekend night.
This dip challenges my all-time favorite spinach-artichoke dip, made with the simple addition of mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. And as quick and easy as that one is, this one is even easier to make, and it’s bursting with fresh onion flavor as opposed to that questionable onion dip made with dry onion soup mix. Not sure if it’s the sweet onion, the mix of cheeses or a combination, but it just works.
Some people like to caramelize their onions for a dip like this, and that’s just fine. But keep them raw, and the flavor really comes through. Sliced thinly, the onions cook up perfectly in the oven, retaining just a hint of crunch and that wonderful taste of the season’s sweet onions.
The dip has an appealing creamy color under its lightly browned crust and looks quite lovely on a platter with baguette slices that have been brushed with olive oil and toasted to a tempting golden brown.