Why it works: Peas and potato 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 ↓
Green Pea Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the broth
Wash the lamb in cold water and place it in a soup pot with 6 quarts of cold water.
Add 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt and bring to a gentle boil over moderate heat for 2 hours.
Skim the surface to clear the broth, then add 1 quart of shelled peas and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
Cover and boil for 30 minutes.
Finish the soup
Scrape the skins from 1 quart of small young potatoes and add them to the soup.
Cover the pot and boil for another 30 minutes.
Work together ¼ pound of butter and 2 teaspoons of flour, then add to the soup 10 to 12 minutes before removing from heat.
Serve
Serve the meat on a dish with parsley sauce and the soup in a tureen.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Peas + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,016 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Lamb + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together520 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Lamb
- Gives the broth its meaty flavour as it simmers for two hours.
- Shelled peas
- Provide the main green colour and sweet, vegetal flavour of the soup.
- Potatoes
- Break down slightly as they cook, adding body and thickening the soup.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded mouthfeel to the finished soup.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup when kneaded with butter and stirred in near the end.
The step that matters
Adding the butter and flour mixture. Flour stirred in directly can form lumps. Working it into the butter first coats the starch granules so they disperse evenly, and the soup should be kept at a simmer so it thickens smoothly without scorching.
Swap the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, pepper, potato, butter, flour):
- Almondfits better
- Beansfits better
- Chickpeafits better
- Peasthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, pepper, potato, butter, 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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