Name: Braised Cod with Leeks
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp butter; 2 C leeks, split lengthwise, sliced thin, and rinsed well; 3 medium carrots, rinsed, peeled, and cut into thin sticks; 4 new (red) potatoes, rinsed and sliced into ½-inch thick circles; 2 C low-sodium chicken broth; 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, rinsed, dried, and chopped (or 2 tsp dried); 12 oz cod fillets, cut into 4 portions (3 oz each); ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Braised Cod with Leeks

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter
2 C leeks, split lengthwise, sliced thin, and rinsed well
3 medium carrots, rinsed, peeled, and cut into thin sticks
4 new (red) potatoes, rinsed and sliced into ½-inch thick circles
2 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, rinsed, dried, and chopped (or 2 tsp dried)
12 oz cod fillets, cut into 4 portions (3 oz each)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

712Calories

58 gProtein

29 gFat

55 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 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 NHLBI (US).

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.

Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Leek + carrottop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,310 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Leek + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together759 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,107 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

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

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, carrot, potato, chicken, parsley, pepper):

Capsicumfits about as well
Leekthe original
Parsnipfits about as well
Onionfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, carrot, potato, chicken, parsley, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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