Sweet, tart, and full of flavor and texture, this agrodolce sauce is sure to be your new go to appetizer, side or topping!
Homemade Agrodolce Sauce with Grapes is the perfect balance of sweet and sour. Sweet golden raisins and red grapes combine with earthy pine nuts, red onion, and sour red wine vinegar to create a sweet and sour compote style sauce popular in Italy.
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Essential Ingredients
Golden Raisins: Opt for golden over the dark raisins for this sauce. Their color keeps the dish light, and I find that they plump up better than the dark variety.
Pine Nuts: Pine nuts provide a nice textural contrast to this sauce and their earthy flavor is a nice addition. if you don't have pine nuts, chopped walnuts can also be used.
Fennel Seeds: These oblong, greenish-brown seeds add a great anise-like flavor to the sauce. Fennel seeds should be stored in a cool, dark place for no more than 6 months.
Vinegar: You can use any kind of vinegar you like. Apple cider vinegar will give you a slightly sweeter compote, swap the red wine vinegar for white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or even sherry vinegar.
Red Seedless Grapes: the grapes are a star here, so opt for the freshest, juiciest you can find. Be sure to cut them in half or quarters in they are large.
How to make the sauce
Combine the golden raisins with the warm water in a small bowl and let stand for 15 minutes.
In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, red onion, and fennel seeds. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer until thickened slightly and the onions have softened, about 15 minutes.
Drain the raisins and add them to the mixture with the pine nuts and grapes. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Enjoy.
Recipe Tips
- You can store this sauce in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you can keep it around that long.
- Switch out the pine nuts or walnuts for almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans.
- Instead of golden raisins try sour cherries, cranberries, apricots, or red currants.
- Add minced garlic and fresh rosemary for some earthy flavors. Or a splash of lime juice for a burst of citrus flavor. If you want to add heat, try throwing in a serrano pepper. For a more mild heat, a poblano pepper would work well.
- Instead of sugar, try a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup.
Recipe FAQs
A little sweet, a little sour, a touch acidic, and completely delicious, agrodolce sauce originates from Italy. It can instantly add a dash of flavor and color to almost any dish. Agrodolce sauce is also completely customizable based on your tastes and the flavor palette you’re going for. This stuff is so great, it’s easy to want to put it on absolutely everything.
There are so many ways you can use this delicious sauce. Spoon it on baguette slices for a great appetizer. Top grilled or roasted chicken, pork chops, sausages, or seafood. Throw it in to add flavor to your favorite roasted or sautéed veggies. Add it to pastas, chicken salad, as a spread on a sandwich. This would be amazing on an elevated grilled cheese. Seriously, it goes with anything!
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Comments and ratings
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Agrodolce Sauce with Grapes
Ingredients
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1 cup warm water
- ⅓ cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion
- 2 tsp. fennel seeds
- 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved or quartered if large
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the raisins with the water in small bowl and let stand 15 minutes. In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, onion, and fennel seeds. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened sightly and onions are softened, about 15 minutes.
- Drain the raisins and add to the mixture with the pine nuts and grapes. Cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.
Notes
- You can store this sauce in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you can keep it around that long.
- You can use any kind of vinegar you like. Apple cider vinegar will give you a slightly sweeter compote, swap the red wine vinegar for white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or even sherry vinegar.
Nutrition
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Kate says
Served this with pork chops, and it was a big hit!
Raul says
Great recipe!
Wendy says
Love the grapes in this recipe! I served it with roast chicken- yum!