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Scollops of Partridges, in Cases

A dish of partridge fillet scallops seasoned and simmered, then baked in oiled paper cases with bacon and sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and shallot 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 ↓

Scollops of Partridges, in Cases

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Cut the fillets of partridges into small scallops.

  2. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and add the scallops.

  3. Season with mignonette pepper, salt, nutmeg, mushrooms, parsley, truffles, and shallots.

  4. Simmer the scallops briskly over medium heat.

  5. Add the Espagnole sauce, fumet, and lemon juice, then toss together for a few minutes.

Fill and bake

  1. Fill the oiled and baked paper cases with the mixture.

  2. Layer a thin slice of fat bacon on each case.

  3. Warm the cases in the oven for 20 minutes before serving.

  4. Serve with a little of the same sauce poured over each case.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,737 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Mushroom + shallottop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,982 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Mushroom + truffletop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,900 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Partridge fillets
Form the main body of the filling as tender, lean meat cut into scallops.
Butter
Adds richness and carries flavour when melted in the pan to cook the scallops.
Espagnole sauce
Adds body and a savoury, glossy moisture that binds the filling together.
Shallots
Provide a mild aromatic onion flavour that builds the base of the filling.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the rich sauce and meat.

The step that matters

Simmer the scallops briskly over medium heat. Brisk simmering cooks the small partridge pieces through without drying them out, while the sauce reduces enough to keep the filling moist rather than watery.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper, mushroom, parsley, truffle, shallot, sauce):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper, mushroom, parsley, truffle, shallot, sauce. 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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