Why it works: Parsley and lemon 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 ↓
Lark Pie
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 larks and meat
Remove the bones from the larks and stuff them with the filling.
Cut the beef into small thin slices and the bacon into strips.
Assemble and bake
Layer the beef at the bottom of a pie dish, arrange the larks on top, and add the remaining meat and bacon strips.
Season well with pepper and salt, fill with stock, and cover with puff pastry.
Brush the top with egg yolk and bake at 400°F (200°C) until the pastry rises and sets, then reduce the temperature to 300°F (150°C) and cook for about 1 hour.
Before serving, add the remaining stock through the hole in the center of the pie.
Serve hot or cold, adding a little gelatin to the stock if serving cold to help the gravy set.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,062 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Larks
- Provide the main meat filling, rolled around the stuffing so each bird is a self-contained portion.
- Rump steak
- Adds savory beef flavor and substance that becomes tender during the long, slow cooking.
- Bacon
- Adds fat and smoky, savory flavor that seasons the meat and stock as it cooks.
- Eggs
- The whole egg binds the stuffing, and the yolk on top browns the pastry for a glossy finish.
- Suet
- Adds richness and moisture to the stuffing, keeping it tender rather than dry.
- Puff pastry
- Forms a flaky, crisp crust that rises and sets over the filling.
The step that matters
Oven temperature change. Starting hot makes the puff pastry rise and set quickly, then lowering the heat lets the meat cook gently without drying out or toughening. Skipping the reduction risks overcooked meat under a crust that browns too fast.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, ham, mushroom, parsley, lemon, egg, pepper):
- Marjoramfits better
- Thymefits better
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, ham, mushroom, parsley, lemon, egg, pepper. 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.
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