Name: Oven-poached Salmon with Sweet Pepper & Basil Sauce
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1 whole salmon , about 1.5-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 8oz, gutted; 250ml dry white wine; 3 tbsp white wine vinegar; 1 small lemon , sliced; 1 medium onion , sliced; 1 carrot , chopped; 2 bay leaves; 2 sprigs each tarragon and thyme; ½ tsp whole black peppercorns; 2 red roasted peppers from a jar, finely chopped; 1 shallot , finely chopped; 5 tbsp olive oil; 6 sprigs fresh basil; 1 tbsp sherry or balsamic vinegar; 100ml dry white wine

Why it works: Tarragon and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 528 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

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.

Tarragon + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together528 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,973 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + tarragontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,137 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,563 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Carrot + tarragontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together463 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 onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, white wine, vinegar, lemon, carrot, tarragon, thyme):

Shallotfits better
Cucumberfits better
Leekfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, white wine, vinegar, lemon, carrot, tarragon, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1

Oven-poached Salmon with Sweet Pepper & Basil Sauce