Name: Serious Eats: Roasted Lemon Shrimp with Mustard-Herb OnionsRoasted Lemon Shrimp with Mustard-Herb Onions
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; Salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 lemon, zested and juiced; Red pepper flakes; 3 large onions, sliced about 1/4-inch thick; 1 pound shell-on shrimp, trimmed, cleaned, and patted dry

Why it works: Thyme and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,973 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Serious Eats: Roasted Lemon Shrimp with Mustard-Herb OnionsRoasted Lemon Shrimp with Mustard-Herb Onions

Serves 2

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Red pepper flakes
3 large onions, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
1 pound shell-on shrimp, trimmed, cleaned, and patted dry

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

295Calories

26 gProtein

15 gFat

18 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

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

By biggirlssmallkitchen. 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.

Thyme + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,973 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,585 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,948 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Mustard + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together913 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, mustard, thyme, pepper, lemon, shrimp):

Shallotfits better
Broccolifits better
Okrafits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, mustard, thyme, pepper, lemon, shrimp. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.