Sweet-Pickled Cauliflower (Cavolfiore in Agrodolce)
Submitted by jeanetteb
Italian sweet-pickled cauliflower (cavolfiore in agrodolce) with blanched florets and onions jarred in a spiced white wine vinegar syrup with mustard seeds, cinnamon, and cloves. Ready in a week, keeps all year.
YIELD
1 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
5 minREADY
1Agrodolce is the Italian art of balancing sweet and sour, and this pickled cauliflower nails it. Blanched florets and sliced onions get layered into sterilized jars and submerged in a boiling vinegar syrup perfumed with mustard seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, and a touch of dried red pepper.
Give it a week to develop and you’ve got about three pounds of crunchy, tangy, lightly sweet pickles that keep in a cool place all year long.
These belong on every antipasto spread, but don’t stop there. Toss a few florets into a white bean salad dressed with olive oil and the pickling liquor, serve them alongside soft-cooked eggs with celery sticks, or just eat them straight from the jar standing in front of the fridge.
Kitchen Tips
- Blanch the cauliflower for exactly 5 minutes, then shock it under cold water immediately. You want the florets firm with a real crunch that holds up for months in the jar.
- Use white wine vinegar, not distilled. The flavor is smoother and more complex, which matters in a recipe this simple.
- Save the pickling liquor when the cauliflower is gone. It makes a killer salad dressing base or a bright splash for braised vegetables.
Ingredients
Directions
Trim the cauliflower and divide it into florets.
Blanch the florets in boiling salted water for 5 minutes.
Drain them and run cold water through them immediately.
Slice the onions and layer them with cauliflower into sterilized jars.
Heat the vinegar with the sugar and spices, and pour the boiling mixture into the jars.
The florets should be submerged.
Cover and seal while hot.
Ready to eat in a week, the pickle will keep in a cool place all year.
Makes approximately 3 lb. pickle.
Suggestions: Make an oeuf en cocette, very lightly cooked with a teaspoon of cream and serve it on a plate along with pickled cauliflower, sticks of cucumber, spring onions, and matchsticks of celery to dip into it.
Toss a few cauliflower florets with a haricot bean salad dressed with olive oil, some of the pickling liquor, chopped garlic and parsley.
Serve them as part of an antipasto with olives and slices of salad.
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