Why it works: Lemon and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 14,036 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: fish
Directions
The book says “a sharp oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the fish
Fillet the sole as done in previous lessons.
Place the bones and scraps of the sole in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring the mixture to a boil.
Butter a flat baking dish with your fingers.
Fold the fillets loosely and place them in the buttered dish.
Sprinkle the fillets with salt and lemon juice.
Cover the fillets with buttered paper.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 6 minutes.
Make the sauce
Chop the parsley finely.
In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in the flour until smooth.
Gradually strain the fish stock into the butter and flour mixture, stir well, heat, and stir until smooth.
Add 2 tablespoons of cream and bring the sauce to a boil.
Remove the sauce from heat and let it sit on a paper towel.
Finish and serve
Stir in the chopped parsley, then add lemon juice.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the fillets from the oven and place them on a warm serving dish.
Add the cooking liquid from the fillets to the sauce and pour the sauce over the fillets.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Lemon + parsleytop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,036 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together34,118 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Lemon + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together41,494 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sole
- Forms the delicate, flaky fillets that are the main body of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, and forms the base roux for the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as its starch swells when cooked in the butter and stock.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, silkier texture to the sauce.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the fish and balances the rich sauce.
- Parsley
- Adds fresh, herbal aroma and a green finish to the sauce.
The step that matters
Adding the fish stock to the roux gradually. Flour thickens smoothly only when it is evenly mixed into the melted butter first and the liquid is added slowly while stirring. Adding the stock too fast or unevenly traps dry flour, which forms lumps that are hard to remove.
“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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