Warm Gruyère, Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dip

It is about 21°F this morning. The cold always me makes me crave crave warm, cozy dishes. This gruyère, roasted garlic and thyme dip  is just the thing to take to a New Years Eve cocktail party, or simply enjoy on the sofa after a long day, with your feet kicked up (build a fire in that fireplace, while you’re at it!).

I went to a cocktail party this fall (potluck style), and there were at least three different spinach and artichoke dips! Tasting and comparing them all was fun, but really? Three versions? Seems everyone was on the same page that night. I LOVE spinach artichoke dip, and this dip hits the same craving but mixes it up a bit.

The first step in this recipe is to roast a whole head of garlic. Have you roasted garlic before? YUM. It becomes golden and soft and spreadable. I roasted an extra head of garlic while I was making the one for this dip just so we could have it. It makes the best garlic garlic bread or compound butter. You may as well make the most of having the oven on!

Surprisingly, even with a whole head of garlic in this dip, it’s a subtle flavor — not a “I’m going to be breathing garlic for the rest of the night,” flavor. The gruyère and cream cheese soften it. Thyme adds an herbaceous note. The leftovers (if you have leftovers — in the realm of cheese that’s a rare story) do well as a sandwich spread or tucked inside of an omelette with sautéd mushrooms.

The new year is almost here! Wishing everyone a joyful 2019!

Warm Gruyère, Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dip

Published December 7, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 75 minutes

---

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil or avocado oil

8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature

2 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces gruyère, finely grated, plus 2 tablespoons for topping

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon minced parsley for garnish

For serving: crudités, crackers, crusty bread, etc.

Directions:

1. First, roast the garlic: preheat oven to 350° F. Chop the very top off of the head of garlic. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive/avocado oil. Place in oven and roast 45 minutes, until cloves are golden and soft.
2. Allow garlic to cool until you can easily touch it without burning your hands, about 15 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves into a medium-sized mixing bowl, discarding of the garlic papers. Mash garlic.
3. Add sour cream, cream cheese, 2 ounces gruyère, salt, black pepper, and thyme to bowl. Use a fork to mix until well combined.
4. Spread cheese mixture in a ramekin or cocotte dish. Do not over fill—make sure there is at least 1/4-inch of extra room in the dish to avoid bubbling over. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons gruyère, and place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and just starting to brown in spots on the top.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before sprinkling with minced parsley and serving with crudités, crackers, or crusty bread.
6. Leftovers? Eat them cold as a spread on toast, sandwiches, etc, or re-warm the dip in the microwave for 30-second intervals or in an oven until warmed through.

Ecuadorian Garlic-Chile Dipping Oil

La Casa de la Abuela is a restaurant with weathered wood tables and a big covered patio. It sits on the main road of La Union, a small town that doesn't even leave a mark on the Google Map of Ecuador. There, in that little town, I experienced the best meal I ate in Ecuador, despite the road noise.

One of the first things that was brought to the table was sliced fresh tomatoes with basil and a drizzle of garlicky, herby oil. There was something about that oil that made those tomatoes shine! Next arrival to the table was a big bowl of seemed muscles and clams, without a doubt freshly caught that morning. We drizzled the same garlic oil over each clam shell in delight. Was it the clams that were stellar or just the oil? Or both? 

We took turns guessing how they made the oil, until finally the owner and chef came to the table, bearing a jar full of the stuff, and the list of the ingredients. 

Just garlic, parsley, and red chiles in olive oil will give you a taste of that night in Ecuador. Drizzle it freely over seafood, dress a caprese salad, use it to make a salad dressing, or drip your favorite bread into it. 🤤

Ecuadorian Garlic-Chile Dipping Oil

Published August 8, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yields: 1 cup   |    Total Time: 15 minutes

---

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fresno chile (in Ecuador, they would use a small red chile called Pico de Pájaro, but I am unable to find that locally)
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Mince garlic, fresno chile and parsley and place in jar.
2. Add salt and oil, to jar. Allow to sit covered, in fridge, for 24 hours so that the flavors seep into the oil.
3. Use as a drizzle or dipping oil.

Garlic Rosemary Shrimp & Paleo Cocktail Sauce (made without ketchup!)

View fullsize

Shrimp with cocktail sauce is not something I ate growing up. The entire category of shellfish was on my short list of foods that sucked, right there next to tomatoes, ketchup, asparagus, and carrots. I have only a few memories of actually eating shellfish as a kid, and most of them include my dad sneaking tiny shrimp into stews to see if I could detect them. 

Clearly, I just didn't understand that shrimp, roasted and tossed with garlic and rosemary is a gift from the sea. (I eventually learned to like everything on that list, aside from ketchup--ugh!).

View fullsize

I've also learned to appreciate a really good cocktail sauce. One that's zesty. One that actually makes the shrimp taste better, instead of masking it. On that does not include--you guessed it-ketchup. Instead it's made with real tomatoes, horseradish, and garlic. A bit of cayenne, and some lemon juice to round it out. When you start putting real ingredients in cocktail sauce, it actually becomes a power food! Did you know that horseradish is considered a cruciferous vegetable? With molecules called glucosinolates, it's been show to help fight cancer. Horseradish has ten times more glucosinlates than broccoli... So dig in already! 

View fullsize

The beauty of this recipe is it's flexibility. Sensitive tastebuds? Hold the cayenne. Timid when it comes to garlic? Add a little, taste it, and add some more. It's easy to take this recipe and turn it into you own signature sauce concoction.

Garlic Rosemary Shrimp & Paleo Cocktail Sauce (made without ketchup!)

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

More shrimp! Less ketchup.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

---

Ingredients:

For the Shrimp:
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the Cocktail Sauce:
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 to 1 ounce piece of fresh horseradish
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss the shrimp with the melted oil, minced garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Spread the shrimp out on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
2. While shrimp cooks, prepare sauce: If you are using a high speed blender, add all of the ingredients and puree until smooth. If you are using a standard blender or food processor, mince the garlic and shred the horseradish with a microplane and then whisk all of the ingredients until combined.
3. Serve shrimp warm on a platter alongside a bowl of sauce.

View fullsize