Why it works: Peas and prosciutto share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 37 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
3 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook for about 9 minutes, until nearly tender.
Add the asparagus and peas to the pasta pot and cook 3 more minutes until the pasta is al dente and the vegetables are tender. Drain well and set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in the milk and the water. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
Stir in the garlic powder and Parmesan until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Cook the prosciutto strips in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly crisp. It is already cured, so it only needs heating through.
Add the drained pasta and vegetables to the sauce and toss until coated. Top with the prosciutto strips and serve warm.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Peas + prosciuttotop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together37 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Asparagus + peastop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,158 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Asparagus + parmesan cheesetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together300 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the garlic
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (asparagus, peas, butter, flour, milk, parmesan cheese, pepper):
- Celerybetter flavor fit
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Tarragonbetter flavor fit
- Garlicthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against asparagus, peas, butter, flour, milk, parmesan cheese, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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