Roasted Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing and Dip
Vegan and Gluten-Free
Vegan and Gluten-FreeFor the past six years I’ve been swapping out a lot of my family’s old standby’s with raw or raw fusion healthier alternatives.
My husband’s “go-to” salad dressing is the Sweet Vidalia Onion by Ken’s. Considering that the first 2 ingredients are (genetically modified) soybean oil and sugar, I really wanted to create a substitute.
Vidalia onions are sweet and delicious but using them raw would have made the dressing bitter and overpowering so I had the idea of oven roasting the Vidalias and using them (along with the liquid created in the roasting) as the base. I have a wonderful clay pot that we got as a wedding present and somehow in the past 10 years I have managed to keep it intact (no small feat considering my clumsiness in the kitchen :- ) You can use any baking dish. Just drizzle a little oil on the bottom of the pan and then over the onions. I used sunflower oil as my base. (I don’t recommend using olive oil as it deteriorates with heat and can be dangerous to your health over time — if you like the taste, try grapeseed oil for cooking and use olive oil for cold or slightly warm dishes)
I kept the lid on (if using a baking dish you can cover with aluminum foil) for most of the time and removed it in the last 20 minutes to brown the onions. All together it was about an hour at 385 degrees.
This dressing was a success with my husband, who said he would be happy to use this instead of the bottled one. Personally I found it a bit sweet so I added a bit of powdered mustard to balance the flavor. Chia seeds were used to thicken and boost the nutrition and the poppy seeds were a great addition for texture and flavor. I tried freezing half of the batch and will update you when we get around to defrosting it as I have no idea if it will fare well with freezing. This salad dressing makes a lovely dip for crudites or as a base for sandwiches instead of mayo. UPDATE: The frozen portion defrosted perfectly well and tastes great – so make a big batch!
Roasted Vidalia Salad Dressing & Dip
(makes 1 quart)
Ingredients:
2 medium vidalia onions
3 TB. sunflower oil
1/2 cup filtered water
1 TB. chia seeds
1 1/2 TB. poppy seeds
2 TB. apple cider vinegar
1-2 TB. coconut sugar
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. powdered mustard (Optional)
Directions: Peel onions and cut off the as much of the root as you can without having them fall apart. Drizzle one tablespoon of the sunflower oil on the bottom of a roasting pan or casserole dish and place the onions over the oil. Drizzle a second tablespoon over the top. Cover (with lid or aluminum foil) Roast at 385 degrees for about 45 minutes. Onion should be fairly soft by then – if not cover and continue another 15 or 20 minutes. Uncover for the next 15-20 minutes to let them brown up a bit but careful not to burn.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. There should be a good amount of liquid in the pan and the onions should fall apart easily. Pour both liquid and onions into a blender and add the remaining tablespoon of sunflower oil, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar, 1/2 of the water and blend. If mixture is too thick and the other part of the water. If not sweet enough add the other tablespoon of sugar. Add the chia and poppy seeds and reblend, adding powdered mustard if you want it to have a bit of a “bite.” Refrigerate to cool and thicken. Great for salads, dips and as a sandwich spread.
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