Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Truffles a LA Seryibtte
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the truffles
Select the finest truffles, ensuring they have no musty smell.
Wash and brush the truffles well with cold water, changing the water several times.
Braise
Line a stewpan with slices of bacon and add the truffles, parsley, green onions, thyme, bay leaves, doves, and sweet basil.
Pour in enough rich veal gravy to cover the truffles and add champagne.
Boil gently for one hour, then let them cool in the gravy.
Serve
When ready to serve, heat them in the gravy, lift them out, and drain on a clean cloth.
Serve neatly in a fine white napkin to contrast with the dark truffles.
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.
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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Thyme + basiltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,768 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
-
Parsley + basiltop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,351 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Truffles
- Provide the main earthy, aromatic flavour that defines the dish.
- Rich veal gravy
- Surrounds the truffles during cooking, adding savoury depth and moisture.
- Champagne
- Adds acidity and a light aromatic character to the cooking liquid.
- Slices of bacon
- Lines the pan, adding smoky, savoury fat flavour to the braising liquid.
The step that matters
Boil gently for one hour. A vigorous boil can toughen and break up the truffles and cloud the gravy. A gentle simmer keeps them tender while the flavours from the bacon, herbs and wine infuse slowly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (truffle, parsley, thyme, basil, veal, champagne, butter):
- Shallotfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against truffle, parsley, thyme, basil, veal, champagne, butter. 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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