Name: Lemon & Thyme Chicken with Butter Beans
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 1 lemon , juiced; thyme leaves , from 3 sprigs; ½ garlic clove , crushed; olive oil; 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts , butterflied (sliced in half horizontally then opened up and flattened); 400g tin butter beans , drained and rinsed; ½ small red onion , finely sliced; 50g rocket

Why it works: Lemon and thyme 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 Butter Beans

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 lemon , juiced
thyme leaves , from 3 sprigs
½ garlic clove , crushed
olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts , butterflied (sliced in half horizontally then opened up and flattened)
400g tin butter beans , drained and rinsed
½ small red onion , finely sliced
50g rocket

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

457Calories

33 gProtein

29 gFat

17 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Bean	not in our table	0

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.

Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,973 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Thyme + clovetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,108 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Thyme + olivetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,948 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,608 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, thyme, garlic, olive, chicken, butter, beans):

Rosemaryfits better
Parsleyfits better
Marjoramfits better
Clovethe original

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

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