Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Quick Neptune Supper
Ingredients
Directions
Make the shrimp sauce
Combine soup, pepper and lemon juice in medium saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly hot.
Add shrimp and heat 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Assemble and serve
Toss rice with pimientos, parsley, onion and butter.
Spoon around inside edge of serving dish; ladle shrimp mixture into center of dish.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Shrimp | 100g cooked | 99 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Mushroom | 1/2 cup sliced (35g) | 15 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Soup | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Mushroom + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,515 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Condensed cream of mushroom soup
- Forms the creamy base that binds the sauce together and carries the other flavors.
- Shrimp
- Provides the main protein; it is already cooked, so it only needs to heat through.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich, creamy soup.
- Hot cooked rice
- Forms the bed the shrimp sauce is served over, soaking up its moisture.
- Butter or margarine
- Adds fat and richness, coating the rice and carrying flavor.
The step that matters
Heating the shrimp sauce gently. Shrimp is already cooked, so overheating makes it tough and rubbery. Keeping the heat low and adding the shrimp only to heat it through keeps it tender.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, mushroom, pepper, lemon, shrimp, rice, parsley):
- Spinachfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, mushroom, pepper, lemon, shrimp, rice, parsley. 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.
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