Name: Lemon & Thyme Chicken with Roast Potatoes & Olives
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 2 large floury potatoes , peeled and diced into 2cm cubes; 14 black kalamata olives; ½ onion , thinly sliced; 4 sprigs thyme , 2 with leaves stripped; olive oil; 2 chicken breasts , sliced in half horizontally (not all the way through) and opened out like a book; 1 lemon , cut into quarters; 3 tbsp mayonnaise , with either a squeeze of lemon juice or ½ clove crushed garlic

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 ↓

Lemon & Thyme Chicken with Roast Potatoes & Olives

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 large floury potatoes , peeled and diced into 2cm cubes
14 black kalamata olives
½ onion , thinly sliced
4 sprigs thyme , 2 with leaves stripped
olive oil
2 chicken breasts , sliced in half horizontally (not all the way through) and opened out like a book
1 lemon , cut into quarters
3 tbsp mayonnaise , with either a squeeze of lemon juice or ½ clove crushed garlic

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

598Calories

44 gProtein

24 gFat

55 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4

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

By bbcgoodfood. 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).
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,948 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Potato + thymetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,458 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

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

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, olive, onion, thyme, chicken):

Avocadofits better
Limefits about as well
Lemonthe original
Coconutfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, olive, onion, thyme, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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