Name: Goat Cheese Toasts with Asparagus-Mushroom Ragu Recipe
Yield: 25 toasts
Ingredients: 25 (1/4-inch-thick, 1-1/2-by-3-inch-long) slices; from about 1/2-pound loaf; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 cup chèvre (fresh goat cheese; about 4 ounces); 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, and thinly sliced (about 3 1/2 cups); 1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed and thinly sliced on the bias (about 3 cups); 1 medium shallot, peeled and thinly sliced; 2/3 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, coarsely chopped

Why it works: Shallot and tarragon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 602 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Goat Cheese Toasts with Asparagus-Mushroom Ragu Recipe

25 toasts

Ingredients

25 (1/4-inch-thick, 1-1/2-by-3-inch-long) slices
from about 1/2-pound loaf
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chèvre (fresh goat cheese; about 4 ounces)
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, and thinly sliced (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed and thinly sliced on the bias (about 3 cups)
1 medium shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, coarsely chopped

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

358Calories

14 gProtein

28 gFat

17 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Goat Cheese	1 oz (28g)	103
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Shiitake	1/2 cup (73g)	34
Asparagus	6 spears (90g)	27
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2

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.

Shallot + tarragontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together602 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Shiitake + shallottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Asparagus + tarragontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together138 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Asparagus + shallottop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together137 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Shiitake + asparagustop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together25 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

Swap the tarragon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, goat cheese, shiitake, mushroom, asparagus, shallot, cream):

Garlicfits better
Thymefits better
Capersfits about as well
Tarragonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, goat cheese, shiitake, mushroom, asparagus, shallot, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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