Why it works: Shrimp and salmon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 792 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, fish, shellfish (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.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and lightly oil a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
Place the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily, at least 145°F (63°C). Let cool, then flake the salmon into a large bowl.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the red bell pepper and jalapeno for 4 minutes until softened, then transfer to the bowl.
Add the minced shrimp to the skillet with another splash of oil and cook 2 to 3 minutes until pink and opaque, at least 145°F (63°C). Add to the bowl.
To the bowl, add the bread crumbs, Parmesan, black pepper, basil, thyme, chives, beaten eggs and softened cream cheese. Mix gently until evenly combined.
Shape the mixture into 8 patties of equal size, pressing them firmly so they hold together.
Chill the patties in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown and heated through, then serve hot.
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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Shrimp + salmontop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together792 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Pepper + basiltop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,292 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,868 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Olive + wheattop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together937 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Olive + parmesan cheesetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,076 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the basil
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, pepper, olive, salmon, wheat, bread, parmesan cheese):
- Garlicabout as good a flavor fit
- Basilthe original
- Celeryabout as good a flavor fit
- Dillabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, pepper, olive, salmon, wheat, bread, parmesan cheese. 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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