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Moulded Halibut or Salmon with Creamed Peas

A molded fish dish served with creamed peas.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and peas are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,016 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Moulded Halibut or Salmon with Creamed Peas

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish mixture

  1. Moisten the cornstarch in the milk.

  2. Add the mashed potatoes, minced fish, salt, and pepper.

Mould and cook

  1. Butter a mold.

  2. Arrange a layer of peas at the bottom.

  3. Place the fish mixture on top of the peas.

  4. Set the mold in a pan of hot water.

  5. Cover the pan.

  6. Boil for 40 minutes.

Serve

  1. Turn out onto a platter.

  2. Serve with creamed peas surrounding the mold.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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. Potato + peastop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,016 recipes

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

  2. Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  4. Fish + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,432 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  5. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Fish
Forms the main body of the moulded dish and gives it its savoury flavour.
Mashed potatoes
Adds bulk and softness, helping the mixture hold together while it cooks.
Cornstarch
Thickens the milk so the mixture sets into a firm, sliceable mould.
Peas
Form a green layer at the base and provide the creamed peas that accompany the dish.
Flour
Thickens the cream sauce so the creamed peas have a smooth, coating consistency.

The step that matters

Set the mold in a pan of hot water. The mould cooks gently in the surrounding water bath, so the mixture heats evenly and sets without drying or curdling at the edges. Keeping the water hot and the pan covered maintains steady heat.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, pepper, milk, potato, flour):

  1. Beansfits better
  2. Chickpeafits better
  3. Almondfits about as well
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, pepper, milk, potato, flour. 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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