Name: Basic Risotto Recipe
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 quarts low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, or 1 cup dried mushrooms (preferably porcini) and 2 quarts water; 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling; 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped; Kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice; 1 cup dry white wine; 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more as needed; 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

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 ↓

Basic Risotto Recipe

6 servings

Ingredients

2 quarts low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, or 1 cup dried mushrooms (preferably porcini) and 2 quarts water
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more as needed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

691Calories

49 gProtein

25 gFat

61 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Porcini	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By chow. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,649 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Olive + ricetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,994 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
White wine + parmesan cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together697 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, onion, pepper, rice, white wine, parmesan cheese):

Garlicfits better
Thymefits better
Basilfits better
Parsleythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, onion, pepper, rice, white wine, parmesan cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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