Why it works: Pepper and parsley 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 ↓
Cappelletti Pasta Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Bring the water to a rolling boil, add the stock cubes, and let them dissolve.
Add the cappelletti pasta and cook according to the packet instructions.
Add the cream and the parsley about two minutes before the end of cooking.
Turn down the heat.
Finish and serve
Add the sherry just before serving.
If serving to children, add the sherry to the grown-up's plate after serving.
Let stand for a few minutes.
Serve sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.
Further serving suggestion might include a green salad or a cold bean salad.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pasta | 1 cup cooked (140g) | 220 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Parmesan Cheese | 1 oz (28g) | 110 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Soup | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Pasta + parsleytop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together732 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Pasta + olivetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,227 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,649 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Chicken + olivetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,888 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid hexyl ester (sweet, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cappelletti pasta pillows
- Provide the main body of the soup, cooking in the broth to become tender.
- Single cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the broth.
- Chicken stock cubes
- Supply the savoury, salty base flavour of the broth.
- Sweet sherry
- Adds a sweet, aromatic note to the finished soup.
The step that matters
Add the cream and parsley two minutes before the end. Cream can split or curdle if boiled hard for long, so adding it near the end and keeping the heat gentle keeps the soup smooth and creamy.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, chicken, cream, pepper, olive, sherry):
- Garlicfits better
- Thymefits better
- Capersfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, chicken, cream, pepper, olive, sherry. 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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