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Lobster Rissoles

Lobster rissoles are small pastry-wrapped lobster patties fried until golden.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Lobster Rissoles

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Remove the flesh from the lobster shell and chop it finely.

  2. Combine the lobster, egg yolk, white sauce, parsley, and cayenne in a saucepan.

  3. Heat the mixture until hot.

  4. Season to taste.

  5. Let the mixture cool on a plate.

Shape the rissoles

  1. Roll out the puff pastry as thinly as possible and cut into 2‑inch rounds.

  2. Place a small amount of the lobster mixture in the center of each pastry round.

  3. Moisten the edges with cold water, fold into a half‑moon shape, and coat with egg and breadcrumbs.

Fry and serve

  1. Heat frying fat in a deep pan.

  2. Fry the rissoles until golden brown.

  3. Drain well and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

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.

  1. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,095 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,765 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Sauce + parsleytop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,693 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Lobster + parsleytop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together890 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

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

What each ingredient does

Lobster
Provides the main flavour and the filling's bulk.
Puff pastry trimmings
Forms the thin, flaky casing that enfolds the filling.
Egg yolk
Binds the filling and enriches it, helping it hold together.
White sauce
Adds moisture and creaminess so the filling stays soft and cohesive.
Breadcrumbs
Form a crisp, golden coating that browns when fried.

The step that matters

Let the filling cool before shaping. A hot, loose filling softens the pastry and can burst the seal during frying. Cooling lets the mixture firm up so it stays enclosed and the pastry fries crisp.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, egg, sauce, pepper):

  1. Tarragonfits about as well
  2. Capersfits about as well
  3. Parsleythe original
  4. Nutmegfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, egg, sauce, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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