Diane's Food Blog

This recipe first caught my eye as I was paging through my newly-purchased Prune cookbook. I decided I had to try it, so after a few attempts to perfect my “sun-dried” zucchini (my recipe here), I was on my way.

I love how the sweet and sour of the agrodolce interact with the spicy chili and cooling mint. Oven-drying the zucchini is the longest step, but once you’ve got that done, the rest comes together really quick.

Fried Zucchini in Agrodolce with Chilies and Mint
Several oven-dried (sun-dried) zucchini slices
Agrodolce sauce (recipe below)
Olive oil
Several fresh mint leaves, gently torn

Generously coat the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add zucchini, being careful not to crowd the pan (you may have to work in batches), and lightly brown each side. It will brown quickly, so keep checking and flipping the pieces until both sides are golden and blistered.

Transfer cooked zucchini to a serving bowl but do not shake off too much of the oil: the finished dish will taste better with some oil.

Sprinkle mint leaves over the zucchini. Spoon hot agrodolce over the zucchini and mint and let it sit for a minute or two to soak up the flavors.

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. Click here for step by step details on making this sauce.

Remove from heat and stir in the garlic and pepper flakes. Serve hot.

Step by Step Details

When you have a few hours to spare, make the oven-dried zucchini ahead of time. Once you have big (or small) pile, you’re ready to go. (You can also make the agrodolce in advance, too, but just make sure it’s hot when you serve it.)

Heat the olive oil until shimmering and add the dried zucchini. You may have to brown in batches, but it browns quickly, so keep checking and flipping until both sides are golden and blistered.

Transfer cooked zucchini to a serving bowl but leave a little oil clinging to the zucchini. Sprinkle mint leaves over the zucchini.

Pour enough hot agrodolce over the zucchini and mint to thoroughly coat it.

Don’t be afraid to use enough to pool in the bottom. Then you know the zucchini will soak it all up.

Let it sit for a minute or two to soak up the flavors. Enjoy!