Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Baked Fish
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Clean and wash the fish, then place it in a deep flat pan.
Slice the tomatoes and layer them over the fish.
Add the peeled garlic and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.
Mix the flour with the water until creamy, then pour it over the fish.
Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the fish, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake and serve
Bake in the oven until the fish is cooked through.
Serve hot or cold, garnished with parsley, sliced lemons, and red radish.
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.
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,539 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,665 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking through in the oven to become flaky and tender.
- Olive oil
- Adds fat and moisture, keeping the fish from drying out during baking.
- Flour
- Mixed with water to form a creamy liquid that thickens slightly and coats the fish.
- Tomatoes
- Release juice as they bake, adding moisture and a mild acidity to the fish.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the oil.
The step that matters
Bake until the fish is cooked through. Fish cooks quickly and becomes dry and tough if overbaked, while underbaked fish is unsafe to eat. Checking that the flesh is opaque and flakes easily helps you stop at the right moment.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, garlic, parsley, lemon, olive, flour, pepper):
- Spinachfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, garlic, parsley, lemon, olive, flour, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
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