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Asparagus-peas, a LA Creme

A creamy asparagus and pea dish cooked with butter, sugar, nutmeg, and egg yolks.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Asparagus and peas match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 808 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Asparagus-peas, a LA Creme

Ingredients

Directions

Boil and cool

  1. Boil the asparagus peas in plenty of water with salt until done.

  2. Drain and immerse in cold water for 3 minutes, then drain again.

Cook and set

  1. In a stewpan, combine the peas with green onions, parsley, butter, sugar, nutmeg, and salt.

  2. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 10 minutes.

  3. Remove the parsley, boil down any excess liquid, and add fresh butter and a mixture of egg yolks and cream.

  4. Toss over low heat to set the mixture, then serve in a dome shape.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Asparagus + peastop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together808 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Asparagus + nutmegtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together252 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Nutmeg + creamtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,920 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

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

What each ingredient does

Asparagus-peas
Form the main bulk of the dish and carry the other flavors.
Butter
Adds richness, a silky mouthfeel, and a glossy finish.
Egg yolks
Thicken the cream mixture as they set, giving the dish its body.
Cream
Adds richness and a smooth texture that mellows the egg yolks.
Sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the savory seasonings.

The step that matters

Toss the egg yolk and cream mixture over low heat to set it. Egg proteins coagulate gently at moderate temperatures, giving a smooth, thickened texture. If the heat is too high or the mixture is overcooked, the eggs curdle and turn grainy, so keep the heat low and stop as soon as it thickens.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (asparagus, butter, sugar, nutmeg, egg, cream):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Hazelnutfits better
  3. Pistachiofits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against asparagus, butter, sugar, nutmeg, egg, cream. 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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