Name: Gorgonzola and Leek Crème Brûlée
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 2 medium-large leeks (about 12 ounces total), split lengthwise, washed thoroughly, and sliced crosswise; 1 small yellow onion, chopped; 5 large egg yolks; 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream; 1 cup half-and-half; 5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled; 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill or tarragon, or 3/4 teaspoon dried dill or tarragon; 3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley; Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 24 teaspoons or 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, or 9 or 6 teaspoons sugar for topping

Why it works: Dill and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 669 recipes. Both carry p-mentha-1,3,8-triene, which smells camphor, herbal. 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.

Dill + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together669 recipes

Shared aroma: p-mentha-1,3,8-triene (camphor, herbal).
Leek + oniontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,326 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
Leek + parsleytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together759 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Olive + parsleytop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,649 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

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

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

Swap the leek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, onion, egg, cream, cheese, dill, parsley):

Potatofits better
Chivefits better
Spinachfits better
Leekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, egg, cream, cheese, dill, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Tarragon	1 tsp dried (0.5g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Topping	not in our table	0

Gorgonzola and Leek Crème Brûlée