Name: Zucchini Rice Tartlets
Ingredients: 2/3 cup finely diced onion; 3 tablespoons finely diced red pepper; 2 teaspoons butter or margarine; 2/3 cup cooked rice, cooled; 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce; 16 prebaked prepared tartlet pastry shells; 1/2 small zucchini, cut into 1/8-inch slices, quartered

Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

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.

Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,163 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Rice + parmesan cheesetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together879 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the filling and set it into a firm custard as it bakes.
Parmesan cheese: Adds savory, salty flavor and helps the filling brown lightly.
Heavy cream: Adds moisture and richness, keeping the filling tender rather than dry.
Cooked rice: Provides body and bulk to the filling so it holds together when sliced.
Butter: Softens the onion and pepper and adds a rich, savory flavor.

The step that matters

Bake until set. Eggs set as they heat, so underbaking leaves the filling runny while overbaking makes it dry and rubbery. Check for a firm centre at the end of the time range.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, rice, parmesan cheese, parsley, egg, cream):

Asparagusfits better
Spinachfits better
Potatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, rice, parmesan cheese, parsley, egg, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Sauce	not in our table	0
Pastry	not in our table	0

Zucchini Rice Tartlets