Why it works: Lamb and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,165 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Epigrammes of Lamb, Mac^doine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the breasts
Tie the lamb breasts and boil in soup stock for 45 minutes.
Drain, remove bones, and press down with a heavy weight until cold.
Cut each breast into three heart-shaped pieces.
Bread and broil
Dip pieces in oil, season with salt and pepper, then roll in bread crumbs.
Broil on a slow fire for 4 minutes on each side.
Prepare 6 broiled lamb chops the same way.
Serve the breasts and chops over the garnishing.
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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Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lamb + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Breasts of lamb
- Provide the main meat, which is boiled until tender and then pressed flat so it can be cut into pieces.
- Fresh bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating on the outside of the meat during broiling.
- Oil or fat
- Helps the bread crumbs stick to the meat and encourages even browning.
- Lamb chops
- Serve as a second cut of lamb, cooked the same way as the breasts.
The step that matters
Pressing the boiled breasts until cold. Pressing under a heavy weight while the meat cools squeezes out moisture and compacts the fibres, so the pieces hold their shape when cut and coated.
“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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