Why it works: Shallot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,737 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Salmon and Green Peas
Ingredients
Directions
Make the stew
Place salmon steaks in an enamelled saucepan.
Add bay leaf, mint, shallot, parsley, green peas, and cucumber.
Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and salt.
Pour in white wine and lemon juice.
Gently stew for 45 minutes.
Remove shallot and herbs.
Serve
Place fish in the center of a dish.
Garnish with peas and cucumber.
Pour sauce over the fish.
Serve hot.
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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Shallot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,737 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Mint + peastop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,137 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Shallot + cucumbertop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together264 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Mint + cucumbertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together884 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish and firms and flakes as it gently stews.
- Green peas
- Add sweetness and a soft, tender texture to the stew and garnish.
- White wine
- Adds acidity and aroma, helping to flavour the sauce as it stews.
- Lemon juice
- Brightens the sauce with acidity that balances the rich fish.
The step that matters
Gently stew for 45 minutes. Keeping the liquid at a gentle simmer cooks the salmon through while keeping it moist and tender. A hard boil tightens the proteins, making the fish dry and flaky in a tough way.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, shallot, parsley, peas, cucumber, pepper, white wine):
- Tarragonfits better
- Capersfits better
- Dillfits better
- Mintthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, shallot, parsley, peas, cucumber, pepper, white wine. 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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