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Chicken and Onion Pie

A savory pie filled with sautéed onions, chicken, and a thickened sauce, topped with breadcrumbs and cheese.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Bread and cheese are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,130 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chicken and Onion Pie

Oven350°F (180°C)
Timeabout 30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Heat a frying pan and add 1/2 stick of margarine.

  2. Saute the onions until tender. (Do not burn).

  3. Remove from heat.

  4. Add flour and milk gradually to make a thick sauce.

  5. Season with salt and pepper.

  6. Add chopped chicken and egg yolk.

  7. Combine all ingredients.

Assemble and bake

  1. Grease a pie dish and set aside.

  2. Mix bread crumbs with the other 1/2 stick of margarine.

  3. Press this mixture in the bottom and side of a 9" pie dish.

  4. Fill the pie dish with the chicken and onion mixture.

  5. Garnish the top with grated cheese.

  6. Bake for about 30 minutes in a moderate oven at 350°F (180°C).

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1112Calories
67 gProtein
39 gFat
120 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
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. Bread + cheesetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,130 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  3. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

  4. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,258 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Margarine
Fat that cooks the onions and binds the buttery bread crumb crust.
Onions
Softened by sauteing to add sweetness and savory body to the filling.
Flour
Thickens the milk into a sauce that holds the filling together.
Milk
Liquid that, with the flour, forms the thick sauce for the filling.
Chicken
Main protein, bound into the sauce so the filling holds its shape when sliced.
Egg yolks
Enriches the sauce and helps it set firmly when baked.

The step that matters

Saute the onions until tender, without burning. Onions scorched in fat turn bitter and brown unevenly, which spoils the flavor of the whole filling. Cooking them gently until soft releases their sweetness and removes excess moisture so the sauce does not turn watery.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, evaporated milk, pepper, chicken, egg, bread, cheese):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Spinachfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, evaporated milk, pepper, chicken, egg, bread, cheese. 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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