Baked Onion Blossom “Bowl” with Jalapeño Popper Dip

Ingredients

Jalapeño Popper Dip (makes just over 1 cup/250 mL):

• ½ pkg (125 g) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup (60 mL) sour cream
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) jalapeño pickle juice
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) chopped pickled jalapeños
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ cup (55 g) coarsely grated Cheddar cheese
• ½ cup (55 g) coarsely grated Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1 small (7-inch) soft flour tortilla

Onion Blossom:

• 1 cup (60 g) Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) neutral oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large white onion
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro leaves (optional), for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. For the dip, beat the cream cheese by hand to soften it, then beat in the sour cream, followed by the jalapeño pickle juice. Stir in the chopped jalapeños, garlic and chilli powder, then stir in the Cheddar and Jack cheeses.
3. Press the tortilla into a small, ovenproof bowl (about 1 to 1 ½ cups in volume), making a bowl shape. Spoon the dip into the tortilla bowl and place this on the baking tray, off to the side (to make room for the onion).
4. For the onion, stir the Panko crumbs with the chili powder, salt and oil, coating well.  Leave this in a small-ish bowl, big enough to submerge the onion to coat it.  Whisk the eggs in a similarly sized bowl and set aside.
5. Trim the top and bottom of the onion, but leave the root end intact (to hold the onion together). Peel the onion, then rest it on the small ring portion of a mason jar with its top up – this stabilizes the onion as you cut it, but prevents you from cutting it all the way through.  Cut the onion into quarters and then make 3 or 4 cuts (depending on the size of the onion) to create the “blossom”. Gently separate the onion “petals” to open the onion up.  Dunk the blossom into the whisked eggs, and swish it around to really get each petal coated as much as you can. Dip the onion into the Panko crumbs, again really swishing it around to get the crumbs to adhere. Sprinkle a few spare crumbs onto the baking tray and place the onion on top. Sprinkle any remaining crumbs on top of the onion (or even on the dip).
6. Cover the onion loosely with foil but leave the dip uncovered. Bake both for 10 minutes, then uncover the onion and continue to bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until the Panko crumbs are a rich golden brown colour.

To serve, use a spatula to lift the onion to a serving plate. Trim away a few petals from the centre of the onion, or press them down. Use tongs and a spatula to lift the tortilla bowl into the centre of the onion and serve with a spoon. Guests can tear away onion petals and spoon the dip onto each bite.