CREAMY HOT ONION CAPONATA SPREAD (hot means taste not temperature)

CREAMY HOT ONION CAPONATA SPREAD (hot means taste not temperature)

High flavors and taste sensations. Whoa!  Like that.

Makes 2 cups

10.58 oz. Jar Eggplant Appetizer Caponata (I used Roland brand, but use what you want; I try them all)

8 oz. plain soy cream cheese

1/4 c. peeled, minced yellow onion (the small hot type, not the large sweet ones)

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. salt

1 t. sugar

1 t. ground coriander

1/4 t. red cayenne pepper

dippers of choice: pita bread triangles, or sliced French baguette, or toasted bagel wedges or tortilla chips

garnish of chopped fresh cilantro, paprika or chopped Kalamata olives

Combine all ingredients, except dippers and garnish, in medium bowl. Stir and mash with the back of a sturdy spoon till evenly dispersed. This will take a while; soy cream cheese is like dairy cream cheese; it takes a while to stir ingredients into it.

For best results, make ahead and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer to decorative container, garnish as desired and surround with dippers of choice.

Notes: When serving French baguette, I serve some plain and some toasted.

If serving canape style, top bread or cracker with generous dollop of spread then top with recommended garnishes. A dot of olive paste also works nicely.

This is halfway between a dip and a spread, so you can use it as either. It’s a nice consistency.

It’s going to have a strong, hot onion flavor, so use the right onions. The garnishes need to be equally potent, that’s the why of the Kalamata olive over the California olive. Capers are welcome. If you want to get extra fancy, use more than one garnish.

You can use fresh garlic in place of powder; mash to keep a smooth texture. Sometimes too much chopped stuff in a spread or dip isn’t good, so often I’ll use powdered garlic. But you decide for you; I just tell you what I do.