Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Rabbits “ Sautes.”
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
In a pan, melt butter over high heat.
Add raw ham, onion, garlic, parsley, and thyme; sauté until fragrant.
Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir well.
Pour in stock and white wine; bring to a simmer.
Cook and serve
Add rabbit pieces and cook until tender.
Strain the sauce and return it to the pan.
Stir in chopped mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve the sauce over the rabbit.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together29,058 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,108 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Garlic + thymetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,608 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rabbit
- Is the main protein, cooked gently in the sauce until tender.
- Flour
- Thickens the stock and wine into a smooth, lightly bodied sauce.
- Butter
- Adds fat and rich flavour for sautéing the aromatics.
- Mushrooms
- Add earthy flavour and moisture to the finished sauce.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the sauce.
The step that matters
Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir well. Flour must be fully stirred into the fat and aromatics before liquid is added; otherwise it clumps and the sauce turns lumpy instead of smooth.
Swap the clove
The recipe marks clove as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rabbit, ham, butter, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme):
- Marjoramfits better
- Winter savoryfits better
- Capersfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rabbit, ham, butter, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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