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Chicken Alfredo

A creamy chicken and fettuccine dish with lemon, herbs, and Parmesan.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Chicken Alfredo

Oven350°F (175°C)
Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the chicken

  1. Heat oil slightly in a frying pan over medium flame.

  2. Sauté chicken breasts and shallots in hot oil for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

  3. Add lemon juice to chicken and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

  4. Remove chicken from flame and reserve juices.

  5. Transfer chicken into a casserole dish.

Make the sauce

  1. Melt butter in a clean frying pan.

  2. Add flour to butter and stir for about 3 minutes.

  3. Slowly add half and half, stirring continuously.

  4. Add all spices and seasonings to sauce.

  5. Stir in reserved juices and keep stirring.

  6. Reduce heat and slowly stir in Parmesan cheese.

  7. Keep stirring until a smooth consistency is achieved.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour sauce over chicken in casserole dish.

  2. Cover and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F (175°C).

  3. While chicken is cooking, prepare pasta.

  4. When chicken is done, serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1307Calories
65 gProtein
45 gFat
159 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 15 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pasta1 cup cooked (140g)220
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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. Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Thyme + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together791 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Oregano + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Oregano + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provide the main protein, which turns firm and opaque as it cooks through.
Cream or half and half
Forms the body of the sauce, giving it richness and a smooth, coating texture.
White flour
Thickens the sauce when cooked briefly in butter, creating a roux that stabilises it.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savoury, salty flavour and helps the sauce become thick and creamy.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps tenderise the chicken.
Fettuccini pasta
Serves as the starch base that the sauce and chicken are served over.

The step that matters

Stirring the sauce while adding Parmesan. Parmesan added to a hot sauce can clump or turn grainy if heat is too high. Lowering the heat and stirring constantly keeps the cheese melted and the sauce smooth.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, cream, flour, thyme, oregano, garlic, parsley):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, cream, flour, thyme, oregano, garlic, parsley. 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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