When I was in high school, I spent a weekend at my brother's college in Upstate New York.  All I remembered from that trip was my introduction to Doritos with onion dip.  I think between my brother and I, we devoured a large bag of Doritos and a tub of sour cream!  At that time, he made the onion dip with the classic sour cream and Lipton onion soup mix.  I don't think I've made that dip as an adult, but when I saw some large maui onions at the Tanaka farmstand together with other wonderful summer vegetables, I thought it was time to upgrade that traditional sour cream and onion dip to a healthy, caramelized sweet onion dip that is better and better for you!

Tips for making Healthy caramelized sweet onion dip

Yoghurt

I use 5% Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream.  Yoghurt has less fat and therefore less calories, more protein, more calcium and probiotics for better gut health.  Greek yoghurt is thicker than regular yoghurt and 5% yoghurt has the consistency of sour cream.

Onions

Sweet onions are used.  These are different from regular red, brown or white onions as they contain less sulphur and therefore less of that bite.  They are sweeter and for this dip, the combination of the sweet onion and the tart yoghurt is a wonderful contrast.

Dice the sweet onion into small-medium sized pieces. between a 1/4 - 1/2 inch (1 cm) square.  Do not dice it too small, because the diced pieces give the dip a crunch which improves the mouthfeel.

Blend half of the caramelized onion into a lumpy puree.  If you don't have a hand blender and are using a smoothie blender, add 1-2 tablespoons of yoghurt to help the blending process.  Blending the yoghurt, together with the umami seasoning, enhances the flavor of the dip.

Seasoning

For this dip, I use Sammy Wong's umami seasoning.  The umami enhances all the different flavors of the onion, making it very complex and interesting.  You can substitute it for salt and pepper, but I promise you, it's just not the same!

This dip is so delicious and universal.  It can be used as a gourmet spread to elevate hamburgers, sandwiches, chicken salads; an appetizer accompanied with chips or vegetables or an accompaniment with anything that needs a dollup of deliciousness such as my light & crispy summer vegetable patties.  Enjoy and let me know what you used your dip for!