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 ↓
Beef, Fillet Of, with Tomatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fillet
Trim the fillet and bind it into a good shape.
Heat the butter in a stewpan, add the fillet and fry until browned on all sides.
Braise the beef
Add the onion, parsley, herbs and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
Cover the pan and cook slowly for 2 hours, basting frequently.
Remove the strings or skewers.
Make the gravy
Boil the stock.
Mix the flour with a little cold stock or water, stir the mixture into the stock and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring continuously.
Pour the stock mixture into the stewpan with the meat.
Season the gravy to taste.
Deepen the color with caramel browning or meat glaze.
Strain into a sauceboat.
Serve
Bake the tomatoes, then stuff the tomatoes.
Place the meat on a hot dish and garnish with the tomatoes.
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 + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fillet of beef
- Is the main cut of meat that is browned and slowly cooked until tender.
- Onion
- Softens during slow cooking and adds savoury sweetness to the braising liquid.
- Butter
- Carries the heat for browning the fillet and adds richness to the pan.
- Flour
- Thickens the stock into a smooth gravy as it simmers.
- Beef stock
- Forms the liquid base of the gravy, adding savoury depth.
- Tomatoes
- Add acidity and fresh flavour to the plate as a garnish.
The step that matters
Fry the fillet until browned on all sides. Searing creates browning through the Maillard reaction, which builds savoury flavour in the meat and the pan juices used for the gravy. Pale, under-browned meat gives a flatter taste.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, parsley, onion, flour, pepper):
- Chivefits better
- Carrotfits better
- Potatofits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, parsley, onion, flour, 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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