Elanore’s French Onion Dip (Vegan)

For the Super Bowl, I recreated the classic cold french onion dip usually eaten with potato chips, but vegan, gluten, and oil-free. I used this recipe (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021261-vegan-onion-dip) and then added a bunch of different spices and flavors to make it taste more like the classic dip I know and love.

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup raw cashews (about 4 ounces)

3cups finely chopped yellow onion (from 2 medium onions)

• ¼cup olive oil (I did NOT use oil but did add about a tablespoon of tahini, thinned slightly with water, towards the end of the caramelization process)
• 1(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained (about 1 cup)
• 4teaspoons lemon juice, plus more as needed
• 4teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ½teaspoon onion powder
• ½teaspoon sweet paprika (I added much more than that)
• Potato chips or crudités, for serving
• I added: 
• dried minced onion
• poultry seasoning
• a dash of Tamari (GF soy sauce)
• onion salt
• garlic salt and garlic powder (wanted more garlic flavor but didn't want to make it too salty)
• garlic and herb seasoning
• (I have no idea how much of each... I measured with my heart and kept tasting as I went until I had something that tasted like french onion dip)
• INSTRUCTIONS:
• In a bowl, cover the cashews with water and let them soak at room temperature for 2 hours.
• About 45 minutes before the cashews are finished soaking, combine the chopped onions, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a medium skillet over medium-low heat (NOTE: I did not use oil but did add about a tablespoon of tahini towards the end of the caramelization process). Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. To prevent the onions from burning and sticking to the bottom of the skillet, you can add a splash of water, but don't add too much, you're not trying to make a sauce or anything.
• Drain the cashews and add them to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender with the beans and ½ cup water. Blend the mixture until smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and seasonings, and blend again until smooth. I added the onions into the mixture in the food processor and pulsed just a couple times to mix and chop the onions a little smaller, but if you're using a blender I would suggest just stirring the onions in so your dip doesn't end up totally smooth.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving with ruffle potato chips (or veggies).