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Hen with Olives

A Romanian dish of hen pieces simmered with olives, onions, tomato sauce, and wine or vinegar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato 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 ↓

Hen with Olives

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the chicken

  1. Fry the hen pieces in 2 tablespoons of oil.

  2. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water.

  3. Simmer.

  4. Turn the pieces occasionally.

  5. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water.

  6. Add washed and pricked olives.

Make the sauce

  1. Fry the chopped onion in two tablespoons of oil until yellow.

  2. Add the flour.

  3. Fry a little longer.

  4. Add a cup of chicken broth or water.

  5. Add tomato sauce.

  6. Add salt.

  7. Add sugar.

  8. Add bay leaf.

  9. Add wine or vinegar.

  10. Pour the sauce over the meat.

Finish and serve

  1. Let boil until the meat is done.

  2. Serve warm or cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

723Calories
15 gProtein
15 gFat
124 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Olive1 large (4g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 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.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

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

  2. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Tomato + winetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,759 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Olive + vinegartop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,297 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Hen portions
Provide the meat, which becomes tender as it simmers in the sauce.
Olives
Add briny, salty flavour that balances the sweetness of the onions and sauce.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they fry, forming the base of the sauce.
Flour
Thickens the sauce as it cooks with the onion and fat.
Tomato sauce
Adds acidity, colour and savoury depth to the sauce.
Wine or vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the rich, savoury sauce.

The step that matters

Fry the flour until it is lightly coloured. Frying flour in fat cooks out its raw taste and begins to toast it, while helping it thicken the sauce smoothly without lumps once liquid is added.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, tomato, sauce, flour, vinegar, wine, sugar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Cucumberfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, tomato, sauce, flour, vinegar, wine, sugar. 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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