Name: Timbale De Nouilles Aux Escalopes De Perdreaux
Ingredients: 1 escalope of partridge fillets; ½ cup reduced espagnole sauce; 2 cups cooked noodles; 2 tablespoons butter; ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Why it works: Butter and parmesan cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,163 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Timbale De Nouilles Aux Escalopes De Perdreaux

Ingredients

1 escalope of partridge fillets
½ cup reduced espagnole sauce
2 cups cooked noodles
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Prepare

Sauté the partridge fillets until cooked.
Drain the partridge fillets.

Assemble and serve

Mix the fillets with the cooked noodles, butter, parmesan, and reduced espagnole sauce.
Fill a timbale with the mixture.
Serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,338 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce + parmesan cheesetop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,294 recipes

Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).

Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Partridge fillets: Provide the main protein, cooked first and then folded into the noodle mixture.
Cooked noodles: Form the body of the timbale, holding its shape when packed into the mould.
Butter: Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel to the noodles.
Parmesan cheese: Adds savory, salty flavor and helps the mixture bind.
Reduced espagnole sauce: Supplies concentrated savory flavor and moisture that coats the noodles and fillets.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.