Agrodolce Salad Recipes

CAPONATA "AGRODOLCE" (SWEET AND SOUR)

Steps:

• In a very hot pan, separately cook the vegetables over a medium-high flame with a bit of the olive oil. Cook the onions and the garlic together in the same pan in a little more oil. Set all cooked vegetables aside in a large bowl.
• Make the "agrodolce": Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and reduce by half over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
• While vegetables are still warm, combine with the roasted peppers, olives, and capers. Pour the "agrodolce" vinegar over the vegetable mixture and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped herbs and marinara sauce and stir.
• Serve the caponata at room temperature.

PORK AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Brush a baking dish with olive oil.
• Whisk tomato paste, vinegar, honey, mashed anchovy, green onions, garlic, rosemary, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper together in a large bowl to make the agrodolce.
• Cut pork shoulder into roughly 3-inch pieces. Add to the bowl of agrodolce and mix by hand until coated. Transfer pork and sauce to the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven, flipping pieces over halfway through, until pork is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add a splash of water if pork appears too dry. Skim off fat as desired.

CHICKEN AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Coat chicken with flour.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook chicken with garlic, ginger, and bay leaves until chicken is browned, about 5 minutes per side.
• Mix wine, vinegar, and honey together in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until sauce is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add orange juice, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and continue cooking until sauce is reduced by 2/3, about 10 minutes. Strain reduction sauce.
• Pour strained reduction sauce over chicken; add pine nuts and simmer over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

CARROTS AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Place the carrots, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/3 cup water in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the water has evaporated, about 7 minutes.
• Stir in the onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the sugar and mix. Add the vinegar, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir until there is a glaze coating the carrots, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the mint, if desired. Place on serving platter.

AGRODOLCE SALAD

Steps:

• Slice baby carrots in half lengthwise. Put in pot, cover with water, and add cider vinegar and honey.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and simmer until carrots are cooked but still firm (al dente).
• Add radish slices and onion. You can use either thinly sliced onion, or chopped onion -- your preference. Cook another 5 minutes.
• Remove veggies with slotted spoon and refrigerate. Continue to cook the liquid until reduced to the consistency of a thin (but not too thin) syrup.
• Cool syrup and whisk in olive oil.
• When you're ready to serve, combine refrigerated veggies, thinly sliced (or diced) apple, walnuts, and raisins. Add syrup and toss well to combine.
• You can throw in anything you want -- crunchy is good (like string beans or celery) and so is sweet (like beets, raw or roasted, or roasted sweet potatoes).

AGRODOLCE SALMON

Steps:

• Arrange the oven racks so that one is in the top third. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly oil.
• Combine the red wine vinegar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of the honey and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the paprika in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until simmering, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until reduced and syrupy, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes. Set the sauce aside.
• Combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Arrange the salmon in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and season with the paprika mixture. Spoon the sauce over the salmon.
• Bake the salmon until it is an opaque light pink and is partially cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the salmon from the oven and set the oven to high broil. Baste the salmon with the sauce pooled on the baking sheet. Return the salmon to the oven and broil until the tops start to brown and caramelize, 3 to 5 minutes depending on your broiler.
• While the salmon is cooking, whisk together the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon honey in a large bowl. Add the watercress, almonds, mint and currants to the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Serve the salmon warm with the watercress salad.

GRILLED-VEGETABLE AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Preheat grill for direct-heat cooking. Season zucchini, squashes, and eggplants with salt and pepper. Lightly drizzle with oil; grill until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes per side (if browning too quickly, move to cooler part of grill).
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and 2 tablespoons sugar. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 cup water. Return to medium high heat and cook until reduced by half, 9 to 10 minutes. Stir in raisins, capers, and bay leaves; season with salt. Let cool slightly. Arrange grilled vegetables in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or other shallow vessel and pour marinade mixture over top. Drizzle generously with oil. Let cool completely, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
• When ready to serve, toast bread on grill or under broiler, flipping once, until lightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes total. Drizzle with oil. Arrange marinated vegetables and cured meats on a platter. With kitchen shears, cut burrata into quarters; drizzle generously with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Layer toast with cheeses, and top with cured meat, marinated vegetables, and parsley.

ZUCCHINI AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Prepare the zucchini: Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Slice the zucchini into 1/8-inch-thick rounds, long ribbons or both. Lay out in a single layer on two wire racks set inside two sheet pans.
• Salt the zucchini lightly and evenly, and let sit for about 20 minutes to draw out the water. Blot dry with paper towels, then leave in the oven until the slices become a little leathery, dry and sort of papery. It'll take a little over an hour.
• Make the agrodolce: In a small, nonreactive stainless-steel saucepan, simmer the vinegar with the sugar over medium heat until syrupy, about 10 minutes. Add the chile flakes and turn off the heat. Stir in garlic slivers.
• Meanwhile, finish the zucchini: Heat about 1 inch of olive oil in a wide sauté pan over medium-high until it shimmers. Test with a chopstick to see if it's ready to sizzle. Fry the leathery zucchini in batches until golden brown, 20 to 30 seconds. Move quickly - they fry quickly. Drain on the racks.
• Arrange the warm, fried zucchini in a heatproof dish and generously scatter mint leaves on top, then spoon the still piping hot agrodolce all over the mint and zucchini. You will smell the mint leaves bloom under the heat of the agrodolce, like tea leaves in hot water. Let rest for about 15 minutes before serving, to allow the flavors to meld and permeate.

PATATE IN AGRODOLCE (SWEET & SOUR WARM POTATO SALAD)

Steps:

• Rinse the capers to remove the salt crystals then leave them in fresh cold water for 30 minutes, changing the water frequently, until they no longer taste salty.
• Mix the potatoes and onion and gently fry in the olive oil in a deep non-stick sauté pan for about 7 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then take off the heat and cover while you prepare the olives. That way the potatoes continue to soften without overcooking.
• Cut strips from the olives, working round the stone to remove all the flesh, then add to the potatoes with the capers and 200ml/7floz water. Return to the heat, cover and leave to cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are almost done.
• Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and add to the potatoes in the pan. Bring to the boil, cook for a minute, then remove from the heat. Serve lukewarm.