French Onion Dip and Divo Italian Parmigiano Reggiano PDO Extra Cheese

Divo Italiano recently sent me a delicious assortment of exciting new Italian Cheeses to try out. These are thorougly modern cheeses selected by Aldo Zilli specifically for the British Table.  They are available in five different varieties and I could not wait to get stuck in.  First out of the starting gate was a cheese that I use frequently in my kitchen . . . Italian Parmigiao Reggiano P D O Extra.

 

Crunchy & crumbly texture, matured for a minimum of 24 months for a sweet & salty taste.  I loved it.  I just adore Parmesan cheese anyways, and this was exceptional in flavour.   Parmesan cheese was the one cheese I did eat outside of processed cheese when I was growing up . . . ok, so it was the stuff that came in the green cylinder from Kraft that you could keep on the shelf without refrigerating, but that was quite bold as far as I was concerned.   I am happy to say that my tastes have really advanced since then!  This was a lovely cheese.  It was rich and crumbly and had a beautiful flavour.

I decided to use some of it in our favourite French Onion Dip.

 

This is a dip that comes in incredibly handy during the holidays when people are doing a lot of entertaining.  Sure, you could just crack open a package of dry French Onion Soup mix, and it would taste alright . . . but trust me when I say . . . ONCE YOU TASTE THIS DIP YOU WILL NEVER SETTLE FOR A PACKAGE MIX DIP AGAIN!



Please excuse me for yelling, but I can't re-iterate enough just how gorgeous this dip is.  It has all of the flavours of a good onion soup . . . sweetly caramelized onions . . . cooked slowly in butter and oil until they are golden delish . . . some spice and tang . . . sour cream . . . mayonnaise . . . and a good Parmesan cheese, which is the real star of the dip along with those beautiful onions.



The Divo Italian Parmigiano Reggiano was perfect in this dip.   It was lovely and rich and in short . . . perfect.  I do hope you will give it a try, and I just know you will agree with me when I say . . . this is the best!

*French Onion Dip*
Makes about 3 1/2 cups  

Printable Recipe  

This beats the heck out of anything that comes pre-prepared or out of a package hands down!  We love this and so do our guests, especially around the holidays!  Great with crisps, crackers and vegetables!  

2 TBS sunflower oil

2 TBS butter

2 large onions, peeled and finely diced

240g of dairy sour cream (2 cups)

(You can also use low fat creme fraiche
with no visible taste difference)

20g of good quality mayonnaise (1 cup)

(you can use low fat with no problems)

45g of finely grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese (1/4 cup)

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp finely ground black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder (not salt)

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

additional salt to taste    

Het the oil and butter  in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, add the onions and sugar.   Cook, stirring from time to time, until golden brown and caramelized.  Make sure that they don't burn.  You just want them a medium to darkish caramel colour.   I usually turn my heat down to low once they get going and do keep an eye on them.  Frequent stirring is the key to preventing them from catching.  This could take anywhere between 25 to 35 minutes.  Once they are completely caramelized remove them from the heat and allow to cool completely to room temperature.  

Whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, celery salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce together to combine well.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Stir in the onion mixture.  Cover and chill for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.  Serve chilled with your preferred dippers!

Divo Italian Parmigiano Reggiano P.D.O. Extra Cheese:

Gold and Bronze award winner at the South West Cheese Awards 2013, this Parmigiano Reggiano P.D.O. is graded for quality twice by the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium before it is selected by Aldo Zilli, to give it the prestigious ‘Extra’ status.

A crunchy and crumbly texture with fruity and nutty flavours, it is matured for at least 24 months from selected mountain dairies where the cattle graze on the lush high pastures and their milk gives this Parmigiano Reggiano outstanding flavour.

This delicious cheese is ideal served grated or shaved on salads, soups, or simply broken off in chunks and eaten on its own with balsamic vinegar. 

To find out more about these lovely cheeses in the Divo Line click HERE.
Find the DIVO range in Morrisons and online at Ocado.

Many thanks to Divo for sending me these lovely cheeses.  Look for more about the other cheeses I was sent soon!