Addictive Creamy Jalapeno Popper Dip
You ever have the craving for a jalapeno popper but did not want to heat one up, not wait long enough for it to cool, burn the roof of your mouth, and curse your impatience? Well, do I have a recipe for you! This dip has all of the flavour, none of the waiting, and availability to eat waaaaaay too much of it in one sitting. To top it off, this is an easy quick recipe that will definitely be a favourite at your next party.
I like to roast my jalapenos, onion, and garlic for this recipe. It provides a lovely depth of flavour and I would not skip this step. You can do this on a grill, cast iron pan, or even in your oven! Make sure you get good colour but don’t burn it to a crisp! I like doing this inside using my cast iron pan (mostly because I am lazy and don’t want to clean the grill, get set up outside, and keep the cat from running out to do his lap around the house). I roast the jalapenos whole, quarter the onion, and cut off the top of the head of garlic. Regardless of your method of roasting, make sure to get a good amount of colour on each side of the jalapeno and the onions. The garlic can be put cut side down and check on it every now and it will be ready once each clove is soft.
Next up is blending all that delicious flavour so that it can be incorporated evenly into the dip (no surprise jalapeno spice bombs!). Remove half of the seeds if you don’t want the dip to be too spicy. I find that removing half of the seeds allows for a mild warmth that invites you to go back for more. I choose to use white wine vinegar for the acid because it pairs very nicely with the onions and jalapenos. I add some good quality honey to bring sweetness. Adding some sweetness to spicy food helps mellow it out and really makes the dip addictive. The secret to this recipe is the ground black sesame seeds and dry vegetable soup mix. The sesame seeds give a beautiful depth and nuttiness that compliments the creaminess of the dip. The vegetable soup mix gives a quick easy oomph without adding all the raw ingredients that mess with the texture.
One of my favourite kitchen tools in the humble immersion blender. I throw all the ingredients into a container, pour some olive oil, and zoom zoom zoom. You’ve got a sauce in under a minute. Make sure you get everything and you don’t chunks.
I whip the sour cream and brick of cream cheese together until it is smooth. Then we add the green spicy mixture to it and incorporate everything evenly. Once that is done, you can eat too much of it immediately. But if you can exercise some self control, I recommend letting the dip sit for an hour or more so that the flavours really get together. There is no wrong choice here though! Happy dipping!
Creamy Jalapeno Popper Dip
Author: Justin
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: serves 6 (or 1 if you try hard enough)
Ingredients
1 container of 18% milk fat sour cream (500ml)
1 brick of room temperature cream cheese (250g)
4 whole jalapeno peppers
1 white onion
1 head of garlic
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of ground sesame seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon of dried vegetable soup mix
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 large container of crackers or chips
Instructions
1. Prepare the vegetables for roasting: Clean the jalapenos, quarter and peel the onion, cut the top off of the head of garlic.
2. Roast the vegetables: on medium-high heat, heat up a cast iron pan. Once hot, roast the jalapenos, onion, and garlic. Get good colour on all sides. Roast the garlic cut side down and will be ready when the cloves have a bit of give when squeezed.
3. Prepare to blend the sauce: Cut the jalapenos and onion into smaller pieces for easier blending. Squeeze/press each clove of garlic out using your hands or side of a knife (they should come out of the cut side fairly easily).
4. Add jalapenos, onion, garlic, honey, white wine vinegar, olive oil, ground sesame seeds, dried vegetable soup mix, and salt into a mason jar or blender cup.
5. Blend: using an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth and without chunks. Once blended, set the sauce aside and let cool.
6. Whip: using a whisk or electric mixer on medium speed and a medium sized mixing bowl, whip the sour cream and cream cheese until it is smooth.
7. Once cool, incorporate the sauce into the sour cream and cream cheese mixture until evenly mixed.
8. Serve in a bowl with your choice of sauce vessel.
