Why it works: Beans and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,733 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Haricot Bean Soup, or Fillets of Plaice Fried in Batter
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beans
Soak the haricot beans overnight in water.
Drain and cook the beans in fresh water until tender.
Season with salt and pepper.
Fry the plaice
Prepare the batter for frying the plaice fillets.
Heat oil in a pan.
Dip the fillets in the batter and fry until golden brown.
Serve
Serve the fried plaice with the haricot bean soup.
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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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
- Haricot beans
- Cooked until tender, they form the body and thickness of the soup.
- Plaice fillets
- Provide the main protein, becoming flaky and mild once cooked through.
- Batter
- Forms a crisp coating that browns in hot oil and seals in moisture.
The step that matters
Frying the battered plaice. The oil must be hot enough to crisp and brown the batter quickly. If it is too cool, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy, and the fish can overcook before the coating sets.
“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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