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Artichokes and Peas

A Maltese dish of artichokes and peas cooked with onion, ham, stock, lemon, and olive oil.

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Why it works: Parsley and pepper 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 ↓

Artichokes and Peas

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove the outer tough leaves of the artichokes and cut off the spiky tops of the remaining leaves, if any, and with the aid of a teaspoon remove the choke.

  2. Put each artichoke in flour and let them soak in a basin with the added lemon juice.

Cook

  1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, add the onion, and when it starts to soften add the ham.

  2. Drain the artichokes and put them in the pan with the peas.

  3. Season with salt and pepper and add the strip of lemon peel.

  4. Pour the stock over the vegetables.

  5. Cover the pan with the lid and simmer until the artichokes are tender.

  6. Halfway through cooking you might have to add some more stock if the vegetables dry up.

  7. When ready, remove the lemon peel.

Serve

  1. Serve either hot as an accompaniment to fish, or cold as a salad, sprinkled with parsley and olive oil.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

796Calories
63 gProtein
43 gFat
40 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Peas1/2 cup (72g)62
Artichoke1 medium (128g)60
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
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. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  2. Artichoke + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together745 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  3. Artichoke + parsleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together524 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Parsley + olivetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,649 recipes

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

  5. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Artichokes
Provide the main body of the dish, becoming tender as they simmer in the liquid.
Fresh peas
Add sweetness and a soft, tender texture to the braise.
Onion
Softens into the oil to build a sweet, savoury base for the dish.
Smoked ham
Adds smoky, salty flavour that seasons the vegetables as they cook.
Beef stock
Provides the cooking liquid that braises the vegetables and carries flavour through them.

The step that matters

Keep enough stock in the pan while simmering. Under-moistened vegetables can scorch or dry out before the artichokes turn tender, so the liquid must cover the base of the pan throughout. Topping up halfway keeps the braise moist and the flavours concentrated.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (artichoke, onion, parsley, olive, ham, beef, pepper):

  1. Lentilsfits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Black-eyed peafits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against artichoke, onion, parsley, olive, ham, beef, 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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