Why it works: Lemon and parsley 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 ↓
The Brill
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Thoroughly clean the brill and remove the scales.
Do not cut off the fins; rub the fish with lemon juice and a little salt.
Poach
Place the brill in a fish kettle with enough cold water to cover it, along with a handful of salt and vinegar.
Bring the water gradually to a boil, then simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
Skim the surface to preserve the fish's color.
Serve
Serve the brill on a napkin, garnished with lemon, curled parsley, and horseradish.
Sprinkle lobster coral over the fish and serve with lobster sauce in a tureen.
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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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Vinegar + parsleytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,477 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vinegar + lemontop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,334 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Parsley + lobstertop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together890 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
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Vinegar + lobstertop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together692 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Brill
- Is the main fish, poached whole so its firm flesh holds together and stays moist.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and the poaching water, helping to firm the flesh slightly.
- Vinegar
- Acidity in the poaching water helps keep the fish's color light and clean.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and brightness to the fish's surface before poaching.
The step that matters
Bring the water gradually to a boil, then simmer. Gentle heating and a low simmer cook the fish evenly and keep the flesh tender. Boiling hard can break up the flesh and toughen the outer layers, and the 10 to 20 minute window depends on fish size, so it should be checked.
“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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