Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,172 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓
Bouchees a LA Reine
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 pastry
Roll the puff pastry to ¼ inch thickness.
Use a 3‑inch cutter to cut out rounds, then a 2‑inch cutter to create a smaller circle in the center.
Dip the cutters in hot water for clean cuts.
Brush the pastry rounds with beaten egg and place on a greased baking sheet.
Bake and fill
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until golden.
Carefully remove the center tops after baking.
Heat the chicken, tongue, and mushrooms in the sauce until hot.
Fill the pastry cases with the mixture and replace the tops.
Serve
Arrange on a serving dish and serve.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together4,172 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
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Mushroom + saucetop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together4,480 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Mushroom + eggtop 21% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together5,987 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Chicken + saucetop 23% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together4,513 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Chicken + eggtop 30% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together8,991 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Puff pastry
- Its layers puff with steam in the oven, forming the light, flaky case.
- Egg
- Beaten egg brushed on the pastry gives it a glossy, golden browned surface.
- Béchamel or velouté sauce
- A thick white sauce that binds the diced meat and mushrooms and keeps the filling moist.
- Cooked chicken
- Forms the main body of the filling, providing savoury flavour and substance.
- Cooked mushrooms
- Add earthy flavour and a soft, moist texture to the filling.
The step that matters
Carefully remove the center tops after baking. Pastry is fragile and still hot after baking, so lifting the lids too early or roughly can collapse or tear the risen case. Removing them gently keeps the shell intact to hold the filling.
“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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