Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Veal Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cut the veal into neat-sized pieces and the bacon into 2-inch strips, removing rind and rough pieces.
Mix salt, pepper, parsley, lemon zest, and sweet herbs on a plate, then dip each piece of meat in the mixture.
Assemble and bake
Layer the meat and bacon in a pie dish, alternating until all ingredients are used.
Half fill the dish with boiling water and let it cool.
Cover with flaky pastry and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 1 to 2 hours.
For a glazed finish, brush the top with beaten egg before baking.
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 + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Veal + porktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,930 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Pork + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Veal neck
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender during the long, slow cooking.
- Bacon or pork
- Adds fat and savory flavor that moistens the lean veal as it cooks.
- Flaky pastry
- Forms a crisp, golden crust that seals in the filling and browns in the oven.
- Beaten egg (in the method)
- Gives the pastry top a glossy, browned finish when brushed on before baking.
The step that matters
Half fill the dish with boiling water and let it cool. Water added to the dish gives moisture for the meat and helps form a jelly-like sauce as collagen from the veal breaks down. Letting it cool before covering keeps the pastry from going soggy.
“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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