Why it works: Anchovy and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,330 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Boiled Halibut
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the fish
Put the lid on a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat and let it simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the fish is cooked.
Lift out the fish and drain it.
Serve
Place the fish on a hot dish.
Spread anchovy butter over the fish.
Garnish with hard-boiled egg yolk and filleted anchovies.
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.
-
Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,330 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Halibut
- Is the main protein, which turns firm and flaky as it cooks gently in simmering liquid.
- Anchovy butter
- Adds fat and savoury depth that coats the fish and carries its flavour.
- Hard-boiled egg yolk
- Adds a crumbly, rich texture and mild richness as a garnish.
- Filleted anchovies
- Adds a salty, savoury note that sharpens the flavour of the dish.
The step that matters
Simmer gently rather than boil hard. Vigorous boiling toughens and breaks up delicate fish proteins, making the fillet dry and ragged. A gentle simmer cooks the fish evenly and keeps it moist and tender.
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.