Why it works: Parsley and lemon 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 ↓
Haricots Blancs a LA Maitre D'hotel
5 personsIngredients
Directions
Cook the beans
Soak beans if very dry for an hour or two in cold water, then boil until perfectly tender.
If the water boils away, replenish it with a little more cold water.
Let the beans be thoroughly done; drain them well.
Finish and serve
Add butter, minced parsley, pepper, and salt to the beans.
Keep moving the stewpan over the fire without using a spoon to avoid breaking the beans.
When the ingredients are well mixed, squeeze in lemon juice and serve very hot.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Bean | 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.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
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.
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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Beans + parsleytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,376 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White haricot beans
- Form the body of the dish, becoming soft and tender when boiled until fully cooked.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat and richness, coating the beans and giving a smooth, savoury finish.
- Parsley
- Contributes fresh, green aroma and flavour to the beans.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the butter.
The step that matters
Keep the beans whole while mixing. Stirring with a spoon or over-agitating softened beans breaks their skins and flesh, turning the dish mushy. Gently moving the pan keeps them intact.
Swap the beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, lemon, pepper):
- Chickpeafits better
- Black-eyed peafits better
- Lentilsfits about as well
- Beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, lemon, pepper. 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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