Why it works: Chicken and chickpea work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 187 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Put the carrots, parsnips and onion in a large roasting tin.
Drizzle the vegetables with the olive oil and sprinkle over the Moroccan seasoning. Toss until evenly coated.
Pat the chicken leg quarters dry and arrange them skin side up among the vegetables.
Roast for 25 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften and the chicken skin starts to brown.
Scatter the rinsed and drained chickpeas into the tin and pour over the canned tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes gently around the vegetables.
Return the tin to the oven and roast for another 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
Check that the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Cook for a few more minutes if it does not.
Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. Scatter over the chopped coriander, if using, and serve with the roasted vegetables and sauce.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Chicken + chickpeatop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together187 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Carrot + parsniptop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,096 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,164 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Tomato + coriandertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,966 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Chickpea + coriandertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together451 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the coriander
The recipe marks coriander as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, carrot, parsnip, onion, chickpea, tomato):
- Cuminbetter flavor fit
- Garlicbetter flavor fit
- Thymeabout as good a flavor fit
- Corianderthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, carrot, parsnip, onion, chickpea, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.