Name: Cornish Hens Under a Brick, Italian Style
Ingredients: 2 cups olive oil; 1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar; 6 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 Tbs. minced fresh basil or 1 Tbs. dried; 2 Tbs. minced fresh oregano or 1 Tbs. dried; 1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes; Juice of 1 lemon; 1 Tbs. salt; 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; 4 Cornish hens, split down the back and; flattened, or 2 poussins or small chickens,; halved; Wood chips or chunks, soaked in water; for 30 minutes and drained; 4 clean bricks or other weights, wrapped in; aluminum foil

Why it works: Basil and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,390 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together1,390 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Basil + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together1,823 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Oregano + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together784 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, lemon):

Thymebetter flavor fit
Rosemarybetter flavor fit
Marjorambetter flavor fit
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper, lemon. 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).

Cornish Hens Under a Brick, Italian Style