Skip to main content

Asparagus with Pearl Barley and Bacon

Hearty and nutritious barley is given a makeover in this light springtime supper.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓
Asparagus with Pearl Barley and Bacon

Why it works: Asparagus and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 137 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Asparagus with Pearl Barley and Bacon

Serves 4
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

641Calories
43 gProtein
25 gFat
59 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Barley1 cup cooked (157g)193
Chicken100g cooked165
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Asparagus6 spears (90g)27
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Shallot1 tbsp minced (10g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Broad Beannot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Asparagus + shallottop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together137 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Asparagus + barleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together44 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Shallot + barleytop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together23 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,083 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, asparagus, cream, pepper, butter, barley, white wine):

  1. Leekfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, asparagus, cream, pepper, butter, barley, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.