Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Truffles, a LA Piemontaise
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the truffles
Cut the truffles into scallops.
In a sauté pan, heat the Lucca oil.
Cook the filling
Add the truffles, parsley, thyme, garlic, mignionette pepper, and salt; fry for 5 minutes.
Remove the garlic, then add the Italian or Espagnole sauce, glaze, and lemon juice.
Toss everything together over the heat.
Fill and bake the rolls
Remove the tops of the French rolls and spread butter inside.
Fill the rolls with the truffle mixture and place in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes to crisp.
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Thyme + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,973 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Thyme + clovetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,108 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Truffles
- Main flavour; their aroma is the defining element of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the inside of the rolls brown and crisp in the oven.
- French rolls
- Provide the bread structure that holds the filling and crisps in the oven.
- Italian or espagnole sauce
- Adds body and moisture, binding the truffles into a cohesive filling.
- Garlic
- Adds aroma to the oil while frying, then is removed so only its flavour remains.
The step that matters
Frying the truffles in oil. Truffles are delicate and their aroma is volatile, so brief, gentle frying over moderate heat preserves flavour while cooking off excess moisture; overcooking dulls aroma and can make them tough.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (truffle, parsley, thyme, garlic, pepper, sauce, lemon):
- Marjoramfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Basilfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against truffle, parsley, thyme, garlic, pepper, sauce, lemon. 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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