Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Martin’s Specialty
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cook onion in butter for three minutes.
Add meat and bread crumbs, moisten with stock, and add egg yolk and seasonings.
Wrap and steam
Wrap in lettuce leaves, placing two tablespoons of mixture in each portion.
Tie in cheesecloth and steam.
Serve
Remove to serving dish and pour around tomato sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Lettuce | 1 cup shredded (36g) | 5 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Veal | 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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Onion + lettucetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,562 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,814 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Pepper + lettucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,037 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 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
- Chicken or veal
- Forms the bulk of the patty and provides the savory core of the dish.
- Soft bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and help bind the meat so the patties hold together.
- Egg yolk
- Acts as a binder that helps the mixture set and hold its shape.
- Butter
- Adds richness and carries the onion flavor during the initial cooking.
The step that matters
Tie in cheesecloth and steam. Wrapped portions need enough tightness to hold their shape while steaming. Steam heat gently sets the egg yolk and binder, so the patties firm up without drying out.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, butter, chicken, bread, egg, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Leekfits better
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, butter, chicken, bread, egg, 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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