Name: Fricassee of Chicken
Ingredients: 1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken; -breasts, cut; into 1-inch pieces; 3 plum tomatoes, peeled and; -chopped; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 1/4 cup minced leeks; 2 tbsp chicken stock; 3 bay leaves; 1 tsp olive oil; 2 tbsp minced fresh basil; 1 tbsp light cream or milk

Why it works: Tomato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. 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.

Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,979 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Olive + basiltop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts: Provide the main protein, which turns firm and opaque as it cooks through.
Plum tomatoes: Add moisture and acidity that build the body of the sauce as they soften.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows and sweetens as it cooks.
Leeks: Contribute mild onion-like sweetness and aroma to the sauce.
Cream or milk: Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the sauce.

The step that matters

Stirring in the cream or milk. Dairy can curdle or separate when it is boiled or overheated. Adding it after the sauce is hot, then letting it stand rather than cooking it further, keeps it smooth.

Swap the plum

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, tomato, clove, garlic, leek, olive, basil):

Avocadofits better
Lemonfits better
Limefits better
Plumthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, tomato, clove, garlic, leek, olive, basil. 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1

Fricassee of Chicken