Why it works: Fish and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,341 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Water Souchy
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the broth
In a pot, add enough water to just cover the fish.
Stir in the coarse sea salt, white peppercorns, green parsley, and cut parsley roots.
Simmer for 30 to 60 minutes until the parsley roots are tender.
Cook the fish
Clean the fish, removing any brown skin, and cut into 2-inch portions.
Add the fish to the pot and skim off any scum that rises.
Cook the fish gently for 8 to 12 minutes, being careful not to overcook.
Two minutes before serving, add minced parsley or boiled parsley branches.
Carefully lift out the fish and parsley roots, and pour the cooking liquid over them.
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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Fish + parsleytop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,341 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fish
- Forms the body of the soup and provides the protein that sets firm when gently cooked.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the broth and helps draw flavor out of the fish and aromatics.
- Parsley roots
- Release earthy, aromatic flavor into the cooking liquid during the long simmer.
The step that matters
Cook the fish gently. Fish proteins toughen and turn dry when boiled hard or held too long. A gentle simmer keeps the flesh tender and moist, so the fish should be checked closely within the stated time.
“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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