Name: Creamy Pappardelle with Leeks and Bacon
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces; 2 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise; Kosher salt; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme; 1 pound pappardelle or fettuccine; 1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano

Why it works: Leek and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 360 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Creamy Pappardelle with Leeks and Bacon

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise
Kosher salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 pound pappardelle or fettuccine
1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

473Calories

15 gProtein

41 gFat

12 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Leek + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together360 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,948 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Olive + leektop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together37 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
Olive + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,887 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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, butter, cream, thyme):

Potatofits better
Tomatofits about as well
Leekthe original
Shallotfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, butter, cream, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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