Guys. Summer is almost over, can you believe it? 
Here's the thing. Every year in, say, April, I'm all HERE IS WHAT WE ARE MAKING FOR SUMMER. I type it in my phone, I proclaim it loudly to anyone who will listen, I make notes and lists. And then summer gets here and goes SO fast, right? Even now that I'm an adult and work through the summer, when I see school supplies in Target I get all nostalgic and want to buy lots of fresh new things and I feel legitimately sad for the kids but also excited for them.
All that to say. "This summer we are making fried chicken like legit" has turned into "what about Labor Day?" And the same thing with this dip. I made it almost a month ago and am FINALLY showing it to you. We were going to our friends' house to play in their pool, and I'm all about trading snacks for chlorinated water and a day of no chores. All freaking about it.
So I made this!
The base is garlic and Greek yogurt, which basically makes this a health food. Then we have onions that we caramelize so slowly until they're sugary sweet. That gets mixed with feta, and the whole shebang is topped with basil and tomatoes because SUMMER. I made a pretty small batch of this and LET ME TELL YOU, I could have made twice this much and it would have been scarfed down. I should probably stop yelling at you, I just really like this dip. 
So first! The onions. Caramelizing onions takes time, like an hour, but that's the only "hard" thing about this. Also I have it in my head that I should start caramelizing onions like when I roast garlic, do a ton at once and just keep them in the fridge for the whole week. Wouldn't that be a great ingredient to just grab and work with on a Tuesday? I say yes. But for this application we're going to do a small batch, so thinly slice half a medium onion or so. More or less won't hurt anything. Then, in a little pan (the onions cook way down), add the onions with 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. You can add some crushed red pepper too if you're into that kind of thing! Definitely do that. 
Now, we just let the onions cook. Turn the heat to low or medium low and let them start working. They shouldn't brown at the edges or sizzle at all, so adjust the heat accordingly. Stir the onions every 10 minutes or so, and after 45 minutes or an hour they'll look like this! It's worth the wait, I promise. 
While the onions are working, you can chop the tomato and basil to get yourself all ready to go. 
When the onions are done and slightly cooled, build the dip by grating the onion directly into the yogurt. 
Add the feta, basil, and onions. 
Then stir everything up! Taste the dip, if the yogurt is making it crazy tangy, add a few sprinkles of salt to make the flavors meld a little bit. 
Let the dip chill in the fridge for 20 minutes (or more, this can be easily made in advance), then top it with the tomatoes and some extra basil. Pita chips or whatever you want for dipping. 
Friends. It's the onions. And the basil. And the feta. Ok, it's the whole dip. The flavors just holler (holla!) summer, and even though this is a dairy-based dip it feels really refreshing with the garlic and tomatoes and basil. I thought about adding grilled corn kernels too, WHAT. That would basically make this dinner. 
Dive in.
Recipe
Yogurt Feta Dip with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- ½ onion thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more if needed
- 7 ounces 1 little container plain Greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic grated or finely minced
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 small tomato seeded and diced
Instructions
- Add the onion, oil, and salt to a small skillet. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook for about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes, until the onions are very soft and golden in color but not browned at the edges at all. The onions shouldn't sizzle, just gook very gently, so turn the heat up or down as you go.
- When the onions are cooked, combine them with the yogurt, feta, garlic, and basil leaves. Stir together and taste; add as much salt as you'd like. Let the dip chill for 15 minutes or more in the fridge. Serve topped with the tomato with chips or crackers for dipping.
- Enjoy!
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