Name: Roasted Morels with Shallots
Ingredients: 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil; 1/2 lb. Morels; 3 to 4 shallots, or 2 medium-sized onions, peeled and cut into wedges; Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Why it works: Olive and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,659 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Roasted Morels with Shallots

Oven400°F

Time10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. Morels
3 to 4 shallots, or 2 medium-sized onions, peeled and cut into wedges
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Lightly grease roasting pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil.
Gently wipe morels with damp cloth to remove grit and slice off most of stem.
Halve mushrooms lengthwise and arrange cut sides down in roasting pan.
Arrange shallots around or over mushrooms.

Roast and serve

Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining olive oil.
Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until mushrooms are fragrant and softened.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

169Calories

1 gProtein

14 gFat

12 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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.

Olive + shallottop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,659 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Olive + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30,263 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,898 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

Morels: Their meaty, hollow caps soften and concentrate their earthy, aromatic flavor when roasted.
Shallots: Soften and turn sweet as they roast, adding mild sweetness to the mushrooms.
Extra virgin olive oil: Conducts heat for even roasting and carries seasoning, helping the mushrooms brown lightly.

The step that matters

Arranging the mushrooms cut side down. Placing the cut sides against the hot pan lets them brown and develop flavor, while the rest cooks through in the oven. Crowding them or leaving them cut side up can cause steaming and pale, soggy results.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Tomatofits better
Eggplantfits better
Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, pepper. 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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Roasted Morels with Shallots