Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Egg Plant Stuffed
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Cook the onion and parsley in a large frying pan for 3 minutes.
Add half of the bread crumbs to the pan.
Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving a shell about 1 inch thick.
Chop the scooped-out eggplant finely.
Add the chopped eggplant to the bread crumb mixture in the frying pan.
Cook the mixture slowly, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat.
Add the beaten egg to the mixture.
Stuff and bake
Fill the eggplant shells with the mixture.
Cover the filled eggplant shells with the remaining bread crumbs.
Dot the shells with bits of butter.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.
Serve very hot.
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.
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Parsley + eggplanttop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together328 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Pepper + eggplanttop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,123 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggplant
- Forms the edible shell and the soft, moist filling that holds the stuffing.
- Egg
- Binds the filling so it holds its shape when baked and sliced.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture from the eggplant and add body to the filling and crisp topping.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the topping brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Cook the mixture slowly, stirring often. Eggplant releases a lot of water as it cooks. Cooking slowly with frequent stirring evaporates that moisture so the filling is thick rather than soggy, and it keeps the bread crumbs from scorching on the pan bottom.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, parsley, bread, eggplant, egg, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, parsley, bread, eggplant, egg, butter. 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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