Whole onions and garlic cloves are slow-roasted and caramelized, then tossed with cheese and baked until bubbly. Who needs the soup when you can just have this?
This dip reminded us of the top of a bowl of French Onion Soup. You know, that gooey layer of melted cheese with the soupy, caramelized onion stuck to the bottom? The bit that your spoon dips through with every scoop, and you have to ration your cheese-to-soup ratio so that you’ll still have enough cheese left for your last bite?
There are a few really cool things about this super cheesy, slow roasted Hot French Onion Soup Dip. The first is, that it uses whole onions, peel and all, so there’s no need to chop any, which means…no tears! That’s right, no need for waterproof mascara today, ladies! The second fun thing is, squeezing the slow roasted onion flesh out of the skins. It’s suuuuuper satisfying. My kids thought it was gross, but we don’t get a whole lot of fun these days so we’ll take what we can!
This method simply involves throwing onions, shallots and garlic cloves into a skillet with olive oil and slow roasting them until they’re mush. Then you squeeze out the innards, mash it up, mix in a little cream cheese and gruyère. A quick bake, followed by an even quicker broil until it bubbles, and go to town, and I mean TO TOWN with the dippers. You’re gonna need a good selection of chips, veggies and bread to hold up to the flavors in this gorgeousness!
xoxo Kirsty
Ingredients for 4 servings
1lb. (450g) small onions such as cipollini or pearl onions, skins left on. If you can’t find small onions, use quartered regular onions.
8oz. (225g) shallots, whole with skins
6 garlic cloves, whole with skins
1/2 cup (120ml) olive oil
3oz. (85g) cream cheese (at room temperature, makes it easier to combine)
6oz. (170g) gruyère, grated, plus extra for sprinkling on top
a few dashes of tabasco
Preheat the oven to 325F (160C). Add the onions, shallots, and garlic to an ovenproof dish or 8” cast iron skillet. Pour over the olive oil. Cover with foil and bake for one hour until the onions are soft and mushy. After an hour, remove the foil, turn over the onions, and bake for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
When the alliums are cool enough to handle, drain the oil (save for another use) and squish the flesh out of the skins. Discard the skins. Mash up the flesh with a fork. You should have about 2 cups worth of onion mixture to work with. Add the cream cheese, gruyère and a few dashes of tabasco. Sprinkle over a little more gruyère before baking. This can be made ahead and refrigerated at this point.
To bake, preheat the oven to 400F (200C) and bake for 20 minutes until bubbling. Broil it for another 2 minutes at the end to give it a nice golden crust. Serve alongside crackers, tortilla chips, baguette, or veggies for a lighter option. This is going to be HOT, so you might want to crack open a beer so as not to burn your mouth! Enjoy!
