Why it works: Chicken and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Rissoles
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Mix the chicken and ham in a bowl.
Moisten the mixture with a little White Sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Wrap and bake
Roll out the pastry to ⅛ inch thickness and cut into 5‑inch squares.
Place a small amount of the mixture on each square, fold like a turnover, and press the edges together.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for about 20 minutes.
Serve with Bechamel or Tomato Sauce.
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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Chicken + hamtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Ham + saucetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,314 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Chicken + saucetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,513 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,058 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
- Cooked chicken
- Provides the main savoury bulk of the filling.
- Cooked ham
- Adds salty, savoury flavour to the filling.
- White sauce
- Moistens the filling so it stays soft and cohesive inside the pastry.
- Rich pastry
- Encloses the filling and browns in the oven as it bakes.
The step that matters
Pressing the pastry edges together. If the edges are not sealed well, the filling can leak out during baking and the pastry may open. A firm seal keeps the moist filling enclosed as steam forms.
“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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