Diane's Food Blog

I’d never heard of agrodolce until I read about it in Prune, a cookbook named after its iconic New York restaurant. A sweet and sour Italian condiment/sauce, it literally means sour and sweet: “agro” means sour and “dolce” means sweet. This version adds a little garlic and red chile flakes, making it sweet and sour and savory and spicy. But that might be a bit complicated to name, so let’s just stick to agro + dolce.

In the cookbook, this sauce is drizzled over crispy zucchini, and once I made that I was immediately addicted. Someday I will use this tasty sauce on roasted vegetables or grilled meats, but maybe only if I run out of zucchini.

Agrodolce
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 to ½ cup sugar
2 garlic cloves, slivered
2 pinches red pepper flakes

Add vinegar and sugar to a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil, stir to dissolve the sugar, and simmer until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the garlic and pepper flakes. Make ahead and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Serve hot over fried zucchini or roasted vegetables or use as a glaze for grilled pork or chicken.

Step by Step Details

This simple sauce only needs four ingredients yet packs a powerful sweet, tangy punch.

To begin, add the vinegar and sugar to a small saucepan.

Bring to a low boil, stir to dissolve the sugar, and simmer until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 to 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and stir in the garlic and pepper flakes. Rest a few minutes to let all the flavors meld.

Drizzle hot agrodolce over roasted vegetables as a condiment or brush on to meats as a glaze. Make ahead and/or store any extra in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy!