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Fish Stew with Fennel and Saffron

While the use of saffron elevates any dish to specialty status, this elegant stew is simple to prepare. Fennel seeds fortify the anise flavor, creating a taste more like that imparted by the wild fennel often used in Mediterranean cooking.

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Fish Stew with Fennel and Saffron

Why it works: Saffron and fennel match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 117 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Fish Stew with Fennel and Saffron

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

958Calories
96 gProtein
34 gFat
61 gCarbs

Counts 17 of 21 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 17 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Clam100g cooked148
Halibut100g cooked140
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Fennel1/2 bulb (87g)27
Fennel Bulb1/2 bulb (87g)27
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saffronnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Seednot in our table0
Peppermintnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Saffron + fenneltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together117 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Thyme + fenneltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together337 recipes

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

  3. Shallot + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,476 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Saffron + thymetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together104 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Shallot + fenneltop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together146 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (saffron, olive, shallot, clam, white wine, thyme, fennel):

  1. Lemonfits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Orangethe original
  4. Avocadofits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against saffron, olive, shallot, clam, white wine, thyme, fennel. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.