Why it works: Chervil and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 824 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Coss Lettuce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lettuce
Remove faded and coarse leaves from the lettuce and cut off the green tops.
Separate each leaf, cut it lengthwise, and then into four or six pieces.
Place the cut lettuce in a bowl.
Dress and serve
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.
Gently toss the salad with a spoon and fork until well mixed, handling it as little as possible.
Add chopped chervil and tarragon for extra flavor, if desired.
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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Chervil + tarragontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together824 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lettuce + cherviltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together396 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Lettuce + tarragontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together425 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Pepper + tarragontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,399 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lettuce + olivetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,580 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lettuce
- Forms the leafy body of the salad and carries the dressing.
- Olive oil
- Coats the leaves, adding richness and a smooth mouthfeel.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the oil.
The step that matters
Gently toss the salad. Lettuce leaves bruise and wilt easily when handled roughly. Tossing gently with a spoon and fork coats the leaves evenly while keeping them crisp.
“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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