Why it works: Pepper and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,263 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Dariole Mould
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the fish and set aside.
Melt the butter in a pan.
Add Neapolitan pepper and dried herbs to the butter.
Make the mixture
In a bowl, mix the fish with the egg whites.
Bake and serve
Spoon the mixture into a mold.
Garnish with slices of whole egg, lobster claws, and olives.
Bake until set and golden.
Serve warm.
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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Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,263 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,488 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Fish + olivetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together279 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Butter + olivetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Fish + lobstertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together326 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Bind the fish mixture and help it set firm when baked.
- Whole egg
- Adds structure and set when cooked, and is sliced as a garnish.
- Butter
- Carries the pepper and herbs and adds richness and flavour.
- Fish
- Forms the main body of the dish, giving protein and texture.
The step that matters
Bake until set and golden. Egg proteins set with heat, so underbaking leaves the mixture loose and overbaking makes it dry and rubbery. Watch for a firm centre and light golden colour.
“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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