Why it works: Chicken and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 6,027 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
The recipe
8 stuffed chicken breastsIngredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat for about 8 minutes, turning, until partly crisp. Drain on paper towels, then chop. Keep the bacon fat in the skillet.
In a bowl, mix the chopped bacon, crumbled feta and chopped basil.
Cut a deep pocket into each chicken breast without cutting through. Fill each pocket with the bacon mixture and secure the openings with toothpicks.
Sear the stuffed chicken in the reserved bacon fat over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side, until golden. Do not cook through.
Spread the diced tomatoes with their juices in the bottom of a slow cooker. Arrange the seared chicken on top.
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours (180 minutes), until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
Remove the toothpicks. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then serve with the tomato sauce spooned over.
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.
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Chicken + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,027 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tomato + basiltop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,979 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Chicken + basiltop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,514 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the basil
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, tomato):
- Garlicbetter flavor fit
- Basilthe original
- Corianderabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, 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).
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