Why it works: Lamb and potato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 520 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Grease two bags thickly.
Trim the cutlets, removing excess fat. Flatten them with a rolling pin and spread foie-gras on both sides.
Lightly sprinkle freshly-fried breadcrumbs on each side of the cutlets.
Cook
In one bag, combine the peas, potatoes, and butter. Place on a grid in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Place the cutlets in a greased bag, fold, and clip. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve
Serve the peas and potatoes as a border on a plate, placing the cutlets in the center. Pour their gravy over the cutlets and serve immediately.
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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Lamb + potatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together520 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Peas + potatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,016 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Potato + peppertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,303 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Lamb + peppertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Potato + buttertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,445 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb cutlets
- Provide the main meat, which cooks gently in the bag and gives the dish its savoury base.
- Foie-gras pâté
- Adds richness and fat that moistens the lean meat and adds savoury depth.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the peas and potatoes, carrying flavour and aiding browning.
- New potatoes
- Provide starchy bulk that becomes soft and creamy as it cooks in the bag.
- Peas
- Add sweetness and a tender texture to the side vegetables.
- Breadcrumbs
- Add a light coating that adds texture and helps hold the pâté against the meat.
The step that matters
Place the cutlets in the greased bag, fold, and clip. A tight seal traps the steam and juices, so the meat cooks gently and keeps its moisture. A loose or leaking bag lets juices escape and dries the cutlets.
Flavor stand-ins for the peas
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, potato, butter, pepper):
- Beansabout as good a flavor fit
- Peasthe original
- Peanutabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, potato, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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