Chicken Thighs With Fresh Plum Agrodolce

By Samantha Seneviratne

Published July 24, 2024

Chicken Thighs With Fresh Plum Agrodolce
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(407)
Comments
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Agrodolce means “bittersweet” in Italian and usually refers to a tangy sauce made with honey or sugar along with vinegar. This summertime riff is inspired by the Italian classic but uses fresh plums to add an additional sweet tart element. Simmered with sherry vinegar and honey, the softened plums make a beautiful sauce to top simple chicken thighs making this a weeknight meal that’s lovely enough for company. Round out the meal with some rice and roasted asparagus.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3tablespoons olive oil
  • 4large boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1¼ pounds)
  • Salt
  • 1large shallot (or ½ small onion), thinly sliced
  • 3large red plums, pitted and cut into ½-inch wedges
  • Red-pepper flakes
  • ⅓cup sherry vinegar
  • 3tablespoons honey
  • 1tablespoon cold butter, salted or unsalted
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt. Place the chicken in the skillet and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. (Don’t try to flip the chicken until it releases naturally from the pan.) Transfer the chicken to a plate.

  2. Step 2

    Add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add the shallot and plums and season with salt and a generous pinch of red pepper. Cook, stirring, until shallots have softened. Add the vinegar and honey and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan along with any accumulated juices and cook until the sauce is syrupy and the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a serving plate. Whisk the butter into the pan sauce and season to taste.

  3. Step 3

    Serve the chicken topped with the plum sauce.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
407 user ratings
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Comments

lynn

curious — recipe says boneless, skinless; picture looks like bone-in, skin on, which is what i’d prefer. guess just cook a bit longer and check temp.

PB

Used four boneless pork loin chops; otherwise followed the recipe. This was easy and delicious. The sauce was intense and velvety. Definitely serve with rice, mashed potatoes, bread - something to soak up the (awesome) sauce.

Diana

“Whatever grows together, goes together. Was just reminded of this axiom by The Bear just saying —. Serving this fresh plum-based dish with asparagus at the height of summer makes no sense. How about grilled eggplant, zucchini or peppers?

Elise

Can’t remember the last time I threw away a whole dish, but this one I did. Maybe I just don’t like agrodolce? Way too sweet & vinegary, and absolutely clashed with the chicken. Truly gross.

yodagirl

I generally like the ping pong of sweet and sour, but this dish just didn’t come together for me. Everyone at the party said it was good, but everyone also agreed that in comparison to the rest of the meal - this was the low performer. I couldn’t even taste the possibility of this being an awesome dish, which would encourage me to try it once again. Do I think I could do it better? Possibly. But it’s just not worth the time when there are so many other fantastic recipes out there.

Jenny

I couldn't resist a bag of late summer plums at the farmer's market--this was a great use of them (after setting some aside for the plum torte...) Effort to deliciousness ratio is great. I doubled the recipe and used two pans to speed things along. Wound up making the sauce in one pan and sautée-steaming the asparagus in the second, which made the asparagus extra yummy. Served with couscous and everyone was happy.

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