Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Stuffed Tomatoes, American Style
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Prepare the tomatoes by scooping out the insides.
In a saucepan, sauté the onions in butter until lightly fried.
Add the chopped tomatoes and the scooped-out flesh to the saucepan.
When the moisture is nearly reduced, add the chopped mushrooms and cover the saucepan.
Once the moisture is reduced, stir in the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 10 minutes, then add the egg yolks and parsley, mixing well.
Allow the mixture to cool, then stuff the tomatoes with it.
Bake and serve
Sprinkle fresh bread crumbs on top of each stuffed tomato and place a small piece of butter on each.
Arrange the tomatoes in a buttered baking pan and bake at 350°F (175°C).
Serve with tomato sauce.
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 + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Tomato + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,719 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Hollowed shells hold the filling, and their flesh adds moisture and tangy flavour to the stuffing.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the cooked filling so it holds its shape when stuffed and baked.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the released tomato moisture and thicken the filling, giving it body.
- Butter
- Adds richness to the sautéed onions and browns the crumb topping in the oven.
- White onions
- Provide a sweet, savoury base for the filling once softened and lightly fried.
The step that matters
Cool the filling before stuffing. Adding hot filling to the tomatoes, or mixing in egg yolks while the mixture is too hot, can scramble the yolks and loosen the filling. Cooling it first lets the yolks bind it and keeps the tomato shells intact.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, butter, mushroom, bread, pepper, egg, parsley):
- Capsicumfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, butter, mushroom, bread, pepper, egg, parsley. 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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