Name: Herb-Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Sage
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) whole chicken, patted dry with paper towels; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 lemon, thinly sliced; 1 bunch of fresh sage leaves (about 1/2 cup); 2 teaspoons kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 3 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise, optional; 3 celery stalks, cut crosswise into thirds, optional; 1 large onion, peeled and cut into large chunks, optional

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 10,172 recipes mention both. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) whole chicken, patted dry with paper towels
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 bunch of fresh sage leaves (about 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium carrots, peeled and halved crosswise, optional
3 celery stalks, cut crosswise into thirds, optional
1 large onion, peeled and cut into large chunks, optional

Directions

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

By epicurious. 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.

Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together10,172 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Lemon + sagetop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together887 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together27,039 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Sage + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together5,388 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,467 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 carrot

The recipe marks carrot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, lemon, sage, pepper, celery, onion):

Tomatoabout as good a flavor fit
Capsicumabout as good a flavor fit
Carrotthe original
Potatoabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, lemon, sage, pepper, celery, onion. 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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