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Wild Mushroom Chicken Balsamico

"This elegant skillet supper features sauteed chicken, zucchini, onion and garlic in Prego®Marinara Pasta Sauce seasoned with a touch of balsamic vinegar."

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Why it works: Chicken and mushroom match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,171 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓

The recipe

4 servings
Prep10 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Contains: 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.

  1. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the olive oil or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken breasts with black pepper and cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side until golden. Transfer to a plate.

  2. Add the remaining oil to the skillet. Cook the onion wedges and zucchini over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  3. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms release their liquid and soften.

  4. Stir in the marinara sauce and balsamic vinegar, then bring to a simmer.

  5. Return the chicken and any juices to the skillet, spooning sauce over the top. Cover and simmer over low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part.

  6. Season with black pepper to taste and serve hot.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Chicken + mushroomtop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,171 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together29,030 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together23,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Chicken + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together10,839 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Chicken + oniontop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together17,808 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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 (olive, chicken, mushroom, garlic, sauce, vinegar, pepper):

  1. Tomatobetter flavor fit
  2. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  3. Onionthe original
  4. Potatoabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, chicken, mushroom, garlic, sauce, vinegar, 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).