Chicken Agrodolce Recipes

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).

CHICKEN AGRODOLCE (AN ITALIAN SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN)

Steps:

• In a large plastic bag, combine flour and chicken breasts, toss to coat.
• In a large skillet, saute floured chicken breasts in olive oil with the whole garlic, bay leaves and allspice berries until chicken is browned.
• Remove chicken to a plate.
• To the skillet, add honey, vinegar and wine; cook to reduce slightly, about 10 minutes on medium-high heat.
• Return chicken to skillet, add orange and lemon juices, salt and pepper, and cook about another 20 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is reduced slightly.
• Remove garlic, bay leaves and allspice berries from sauce.
• Add pignoli and heat through, another 5 minutes or so.
• Delicious with angel hair pasta or a nice risotto.

CHICKEN AGRODOLCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken evenly with the salt. Add the olive oil to the hot pan and heat 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook without moving it for 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the breasts and sear on the other side for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the vinegar, garlic, thyme, and honey to the pan. Swirl to combine. Using tongs, flip each piece of chicken to coat it in the sauce. Place the pan in the oven and cook the chicken for approximately 15 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees F. Baste with the sauce halfway through cooking.
• Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the chicken to a platter to rest. Place the pan back over medium heat and simmer the pan juices for about 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add the butter and whisk until melted and incorporated. Drizzle the chicken with the sauce and serve.

POLLO AGRODOLCE (VENETIAN SWEET-AND-SOUR CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Mix cloves, zest, 1/2 cup vinegar, mint, 1/4 cup oil, salt, pepper in a bowl.
• Add chicken to bowl and marinate in refrigerator 3 hours or overnight.
• Drain chicken and discard marinade Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add remaining oil and butter.
• When butter melts, add onion, peppers, and mushrooms.
• Saute until vegetables start to brown (about 4 min).
• Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a bowl; keep warm.
• Add chicken to skillet, with what was the skin side down; sear lightly.
• Turn chicken, add raisins and pine nuts, and cook 1-2 minutes, until pine nuts begin to brown.
• Add remaining 6 Tbsp of vinegar and vermouth; bring to a simmer.
• Season lightly with salt, then reduce heat to medium.
• Cook until chicken is just done and sauce is reduced to the consistency of a light syrup.
• If sauce is thick when chicken is done, add small ladlefuls of chicken stock.
• If the sauce is too thin when the chicken is done, remove chicken and continue to reduce sauce.
• When the sauce is the correct consistency, stir in vegetables and add salt if needed.
• Turn chicken pieces over to coat with sauce, then arrange on plate and spoon vegetables and sauce over chicken.

AGRODOLCE WINGS

Steps:

• For the agrodolce sauce: Combine the vinegar, shallot, sugar, peppercorns, mustard seeds and salt in a high-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until reduced by half and syrupy, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain into a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
• For the wings: Line 3 rimmed baking sheets with wire racks.
• Pour 6 inches of oil into a large Dutch oven. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the side and heat the oil to 375 degrees F (or use a deep fryer).
• Meanwhile, divide the wings between 2 of the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle the wings with salt.
• For the coating: Whisk together the cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Dredge each wing in the cornstarch mixture and return to the racks.
• For the batter: Whisk together the rice flour, cornstarch and baking powder in another medium bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup water and the vodka. Working in batches of about 6 wings, dip each dredged wing into the batter and then place directly into the hot oil. Fry until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the fried wings to the third prepared baking sheet. Continue dipping and frying until all the wings are cooked. Keep the oil over the heat.
• For the garnish: Line a plate with paper towels. In the same oil the wings cooked in, carefully add the parsley and basil leaves and fry until crinkly and darker in color, about 15 seconds. (Be careful! The oil may spatter. When adding, step back and away from the oil.) Remove to the prepared plate.
• Once all the wings are fried, use tongs to dip each wing into the agrodolce sauce and place on a platter. Garnish with the fried herbs and get ready to get sticky!