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Scollops of Partridges, in Cases

Partridge fillets cut into scallops, seasoned and cooked, then wrapped in oiled paper cases topped with bacon and baked.

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

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the filling

  1. Fillet the partridges and cut the fillets into small scallops.

  2. Melt the butter in a large sauté pan without clarifying it.

  3. Season the scallops with mignionette‑pepper, salt, nutmeg, mushrooms, parsley, truffles, and shallots.

  4. Simmer the scallops briskly over medium heat until cooked.

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

Fill and bake

  1. Fill the oiled paper cases with the mixture and place them on a baking sheet lined with clean paper.

  2. Top each case with a thin layer of fat bacon.

  3. Warm the cases in a 350°F (175°C) 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

Partridges
Provide the main meat, cut into small scallops that cook quickly and stay tender.
Espagnole sauce
Adds a rich, savoury body that moistens the filling and coats the scallops.
Fat bacon
Lays a thin fatty layer over the cases that bastes the filling as it warms.
Butter
Adds fat and rich flavour for cooking the scallops in the pan.
Truffles
Contribute a deep, earthy aroma to the filling.

The step that matters

Simmer the scallops briskly until just cooked. Partridge meat is lean and dries out and toughens if overcooked. Cooking briskly over medium heat only until done keeps the scallops tender before they are baked again in the cases.

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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