Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The Brill
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Thoroughly clean the brill and remove the scales.
Do not cut off the fins.
Rub the fish with lemon juice and a little salt.
Poach
Place the brill in a fish kettle with enough cold water to cover it.
Add a handful of salt and 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
Skim the surface to maintain the fish's color.
Serve
Serve the brill on a napkin, garnished with lemon, curled parsley, and horseradish.
Sprinkle lobster coral over the fish.
Serve with lobster sauce in a tureen.
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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + horseradishtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together562 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Lemon + horseradishtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,155 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Vinegar + horseradishtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brill
- The main fish, which turns firm and flaky as its proteins set during gentle poaching.
- Lobster sauce
- Served alongside as a rich, savory accompaniment that complements the mild fish.
The step that matters
Simmer, do not boil, and skim the surface. A hard boil makes the delicate fish flesh break apart and toughen, and it stirs up foam that can cloud the water and dull the fish's color. Keeping the liquid at a gentle simmer and skimming the surface preserves the appearance and texture of the fish.
“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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