Name: Portuguese Broiled Fillets of Sole
Ingredients: 8 fillets of sole; 1½ tbsp lemon juice; 2 tbsp butter; ¼ cup dry sherry; 1 tsp soy sauce; 2 sprigs of parsley, minced; 1 egg yolk

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 ↓

Portuguese Broiled Fillets of Sole

Ingredients

Directions

Broil the fish

Arrange fillets in a broiling pan; sprinkle with part of the lemon juice and dot with butter.
Broil until the fish begins to brown; remove from the broiler.

Make the sauce and finish

Combine the remaining lemon juice, sherry, soy sauce, parsley, and egg yolk; mix well.
Spoon the sauce over the partially cooked fish; return to the broiler until the sauce begins to bubble.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

227Calories

8 gProtein

17 gFat

6 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

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.

Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,037 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,505 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,338 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together28,563 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,227 recipes

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

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Sole fillets: Provide the delicate fish that is cooked and served as the main dish.
Egg yolk: Emulsifies the sauce and thickens it slightly as it heats, giving body.
Butter: Adds richness and fat that helps the fish brown and carries flavor.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the mild fish and balances the rich sauce.
Dry sherry: Adds savory depth and aroma to the sauce.

The step that matters

Return the sauce to the broiler until it just bubbles. Egg yolk in the sauce can curdle or turn grainy if overheated, so watch closely and stop as soon as it bubbles. Fish cooked too long also dries out and toughens.

“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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Portuguese Broiled Fillets of Sole