Why it works: Beans and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,443 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Lamb, Breast Of, Stuffed
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lamb
Remove the bones from the lamb.
Flatten the meat with a rolling pin.
Season the lamb well with salt and pepper.
Spread the veal forcemeat on top of the lamb.
Roll up the meat tightly.
Bind the roll securely with string.
Braise
Slice the vegetables.
Place the sliced vegetables in a large stewpan with 1 oz. of butter.
Place the rolled meat on top of the vegetables.
Cover the stewpan and cook gently for 20 minutes.
Add the herbs, peppercorns, and stock to nearly cover the vegetables.
Place a buttered paper over the meat.
Cover with a lid and braise for 2 hours.
Prepare the beans and serve
Cook the French beans in salted water.
Drain the French beans well.
Melt the remaining butter in a stewpan.
Add the beans to the stewpan.
Season the beans with salt and pepper.
Toss the beans for a few minutes.
Arrange the beans in small groups around the dish.
Brush the meat with glaze before serving.
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.
-
Beans + carrottop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,443 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beans + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,242 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,733 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb breast
- Forms the main body of the dish and carries the forcemeat filling.
- Veal forcemeat
- Adds a moist, tender filling that stays juicy inside the rolled meat.
- Brown or demi-glace sauce
- Provides a rich, savoury sauce to serve alongside the braised meat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries flavour and helps the vegetables and beans brown gently.
- Onions
- Form the aromatic base under the meat, adding sweetness as they cook slowly.
- Carrots
- Add sweetness and aroma to the braising liquid as they soften.
The step that matters
Braise gently with a lid on. Slow, low-heat braising breaks down connective tissue in the lamb, making it tender. Boiling hard would toughen the meat and reduce the cooking liquid too quickly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, sauce, veal, beans, butter, pepper, carrot):
- Tomatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, sauce, veal, beans, butter, pepper, carrot. 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.
You might also like
The 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.
Carrot Soup134 recipes
Veal Patties50 recipes
Turnip Soup43 recipes
German Style String Beans7 recipes