Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 14,036 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: fish
Directions
The book says “a sharp oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the stock and fish
Fillet the sole as described in the fried fillets recipe.
Place the bones and fins of the sole in a saucepan with ½ pint of water and bring to a boil.
Butter a flat tin pan with your fingers.
Fold the fillets loosely and lay them in the buttered tin.
Sprinkle the fillets with coarse sea salt.
Squeeze lemon juice over the fillets.
Cover the fillets with buttered paper.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for six minutes.
Make the sauce
Chop the parsley finely for the sauce.
In a saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of butter and ¾ ounce of flour, mixing smoothly with a wooden spoon.
Gradually pour the fish stock through a strainer into the butter and flour mixture, stirring well.
Place the saucepan on the heat and stir until smooth.
Add 2 tablespoons of cream and bring the sauce to a boil.
Remove the sauce from heat and let it sit on a paper on the table.
Stir in the chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon of lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve
Remove the fillets from the oven and arrange them on a hot serving dish, adding the cooking liquid to the sauce.
Pour the sauce over the fillets.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,036 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together34,118 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Sole
- Lean white fish whose delicate flesh cooks quickly and stays tender when baked briefly.
- Butter
- Carries flavour and, with flour, forms the roux that thickens the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the melted butter into a roux that gives the sauce body.
- Cream
- Adds richness and smoothness to the sauce.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens both the fish and the sauce.
The step that matters
Mixing the stock into the roux. Flour thickens only when its starch is evenly dispersed in liquid. Adding the stock gradually while stirring well prevents lumps and gives a smooth, glossy sauce.
“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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