Why it works: Clam and shrimp match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 102 recipes mention both. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingsIngredients
Contains: milk, wheat, 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.
Thaw the puff pastry sheet at room temperature until it can be unfolded without cracking, then heat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Lightly coat a 9-inch pie dish or 1.5-quart baking dish with vegetable cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk the cream of onion soup, New England clam chowder, milk and hot pepper sauce until smooth.
Stir the thawed mixed vegetables, thawed baby shrimp and imitation crabmeat into the soup mixture, then spoon everything into the prepared dish.
Roll the pastry sheet slightly larger than the dish, drape it over the filling, trim the edges, press them against the rim and cut a few small slits on top.
Set the dish on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the filling is bubbling and hot throughout, about 165°F (74°C) in the center.
Let the pot pie rest for 10 minutes before serving so the filling thickens slightly.
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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Clam + shrimptop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together102 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Cream + saucetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,786 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Onion + peppertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together68,463 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + shrimptop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,193 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Onion + clamtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together568 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, clam, milk, pepper, sauce, shrimp):
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Tomatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, clam, milk, pepper, sauce, shrimp. 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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