apps/admin-web/cypress/e2e/admin-layout.cy.ts

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ describe("Admin layout", () => {
     cy.contains("h1", "Administration").should("be.visible");
   });
 
-  it("shows the sidebar and navigates between the three sections", () => {
+  it("shows the sidebar and navigates between the sections", () => {
     cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/auth/me", { statusCode: 200, body: adminBody });
     cy.visit("/");
 
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@ describe("Admin layout", () => {
     cy.url().should("include", "/corrections");
     cy.contains("h1", "Corrections").should("be.visible");
 
+    cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/catalog/placeholders*", { statusCode: 200, body: [] });
+    cy.contains("nav a", "Catalogue").click();
+    cy.url().should("include", "/catalogue");
+    cy.contains("h1", "Ingrédients hors-catalogue").should("be.visible");
+
     cy.contains("nav a", "Tableau de bord").click();
     cy.url().should("eq", `${Cypress.config().baseUrl}/`);
   });

apps/admin-web/cypress/e2e/catalog.cy.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+// Mocks the admin API via cy.intercept — no live backend.
+
+const adminBody = {
+  id: 1,
+  email: "ops@example.com",
+  name: "Ops",
+  createdAt: "2026-08-01T00:00:00.000Z",
+  lastLoginAt: "2026-08-28T09:00:00.000Z",
+};
+
+function pendingGroups() {
+  return [
+    {
+      normalizedName: "piment d espelette",
+      displayNames: ["Piment d'Espelette", "piment d espelette"],
+      ingredientIds: [11, 12],
+      recipeCount: 2,
+      sampleRecipes: [
+        { id: 1, name: "Poulet basquaise" },
+        { id: 2, name: "Piperade" },
+      ],
+      firstSeenAt: "2026-08-20T10:00:00.000Z",
+      allReviewed: false,
+    },
+    {
+      normalizedName: "sumac",
+      displayNames: ["Sumac"],
+      ingredientIds: [13],
+      recipeCount: 1,
+      sampleRecipes: [{ id: 3, name: "Fattoush" }],
+      firstSeenAt: "2026-08-22T10:00:00.000Z",
+      allReviewed: false,
+    },
+  ];
+}
+
+describe("Admin catalog — off-catalog ingredients", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    cy.viewport(1400, 900);
+    cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/auth/me", { statusCode: 200, body: adminBody });
+  });
+
+  it("lists placeholder groups newest-impact first with their recipe count and spelling variants", () => {
+    cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/catalog/placeholders*", {
+      statusCode: 200,
+      body: pendingGroups(),
+    }).as("getPlaceholders");
+    cy.visit("/catalogue");
+    cy.wait("@getPlaceholders");
+
+    cy.get(".catalog-card").should("have.length", 2);
+    cy.get(".catalog-card").first().should("contain.text", "Piment d'Espelette");
+    cy.contains(".catalog-card", "Piment d'Espelette")
+      .should("contain.text", "2 recette")
+      .and("contain.text", "piment d espelette")
+      .and("contain.text", "Poulet basquaise");
+  });
+
+  it("marks a group reviewed and reloads the list", () => {
+    cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/catalog/placeholders*", {
+      statusCode: 200,
+      body: pendingGroups(),
+    }).as("getPlaceholders");
+    cy.intercept("PATCH", "**/admin/catalog/placeholders/mark-reviewed", {
+      statusCode: 200,
+      body: { reviewed: 1 },
+    }).as("markReviewed");
+
+    cy.visit("/catalogue");
+    cy.wait("@getPlaceholders");
+
+    cy.contains(".catalog-card", "Sumac").contains("button", "Marquer comme traité").click();
+
+    cy.wait("@markReviewed")
+      .its("request.body")
+      .should("deep.equal", { ingredientIds: [13] });
+    // The page re-fetches the list after the PATCH.
+    cy.get("@getPlaceholders.all").should("have.length.greaterThan", 1);
+  });
+
+  it("switches to the reviewed archive tab", () => {
+    cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/catalog/placeholders", {
+      statusCode: 200,
+      body: pendingGroups(),
+    });
+    cy.intercept("GET", "**/admin/catalog/placeholders?reviewed=true", {
+      statusCode: 200,
+      body: [],
+    }).as("getReviewed");
+
+    cy.visit("/catalogue");
+    cy.contains(".catalog-tabs button", "Traités").click();
+    cy.wait("@getReviewed");
+    cy.contains("Aucun ingrédient hors-catalogue").should("be.visible");
+  });
+});

apps/admin-web/src/App.tsx

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Navigate, Route, Routes } from "react-router-dom";
 import { RequireAdmin } from "./features/auth/RequireAdmin";
 import { AdminLayout } from "./layouts/AdminLayout";
+import { CatalogPage } from "./pages/catalog/CatalogPage";
 import { CorrectionsPage } from "./pages/corrections/CorrectionsPage";
 import { DashboardPage } from "./pages/dashboard/DashboardPage";
 import { LoginPage } from "./pages/login/LoginPage";
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ export function App() {
         <Route path="/" element={<DashboardPage />} />
         <Route path="/monitoring" element={<MonitoringPage />} />
         <Route path="/corrections" element={<CorrectionsPage />} />
+        <Route path="/catalogue" element={<CatalogPage />} />
       </Route>
       <Route path="*" element={<Navigate to="/" replace />} />
     </Routes>

apps/admin-web/src/api/client.ts

@@ -2,10 +2,13 @@ import {
   type AdminLoginInput,
   type AdminUserView,
   type ApiErrorResponse,
+  type CatalogPlaceholderGroupView,
   type CorrectionAdminView,
   ErrorCode,
+  type MarkPlaceholdersReviewedInput,
   type MetricsView,
   type MonitoringView,
+  type PruneOrphansResultView,
   type RetrainRequestInput,
   type RetrainResultView,
   type TrainingDataSnippetView,
@@ -163,6 +166,26 @@ export class AdminApiClient {
       body: JSON.stringify(body),
     });
   }
+
+  /** Off-catalog ingredient "placeholders" users typed, grouped by normalized name. `reviewed` omitted/`"false"` = the still-to-triage list, `"true"` = the archive. */
+  public getPlaceholders(reviewed?: "true" | "false"): Promise<CatalogPlaceholderGroupView[]> {
+    return this._request(`/admin/catalog/placeholders${query({ reviewed })}`);
+  }
+
+  /** Marks the given placeholder ingredient ids as triaged (`reviewedAt`). */
+  public markPlaceholdersReviewed(
+    body: MarkPlaceholdersReviewedInput,
+  ): Promise<{ reviewed: number }> {
+    return this._request("/admin/catalog/placeholders/mark-reviewed", {
+      method: "PATCH",
+      body: JSON.stringify(body),
+    });
+  }
+
+  /** Deletes placeholder rows no recipe references any more. */
+  public pruneOrphanPlaceholders(): Promise<PruneOrphansResultView> {
+    return this._request("/admin/catalog/placeholders/prune-orphans", { method: "POST" });
+  }
 }
 
 /** Single shared instance — stateless, same reasoning as apps/web's `apiClient`. */

apps/admin-web/src/layouts/AdminLayout.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Activity, LayoutDashboard, ListChecks } from "lucide-react";
+import { Activity, LayoutDashboard, ListChecks, PackageSearch } from "lucide-react";
 import { useState } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { NavLink, Outlet, useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ const NAV_ITEMS = [
   { to: "/", key: "dashboard", Icon: LayoutDashboard, end: true },
   { to: "/monitoring", key: "monitoring", Icon: Activity, end: false },
   { to: "/corrections", key: "corrections", Icon: ListChecks, end: false },
+  { to: "/catalogue", key: "catalog", Icon: PackageSearch, end: false },
 ] as const;
 
 /**

apps/admin-web/src/locales/fr/translation.json

@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@
     "nav": {
       "dashboard": "Tableau de bord",
       "monitoring": "Monitoring",
-      "corrections": "Corrections"
+      "corrections": "Corrections",
+      "catalog": "Catalogue"
     },
     "layout": {
       "logout": "Se déconnecter"
@@ -123,6 +124,25 @@
         "created": "Créée",
         "consumed": "Consommée"
       }
+    },
+    "catalog": {
+      "title": "Ingrédients hors-catalogue",
+      "lead": "Ingrédients saisis en texte libre par les utilisateurs parce que le catalogue ne les couvrait pas. Regroupés par nom normalisé — à promouvoir dans reference-seed-data.ts + les locales, à la main.",
+      "empty": "Aucun ingrédient hors-catalogue.",
+      "tab": {
+        "pending": "À traiter",
+        "reviewed": "Traités"
+      },
+      "recipeCount": "{{count}} recette(s)",
+      "alsoWritten": "Aussi écrit : {{variants}}",
+      "seenIn": "Vu dans :",
+      "firstSeen": "Première fois le {{date}}",
+      "markReviewed": "Marquer comme traité",
+      "marking": "…",
+      "pruneOrphans": "Purger les orphelins",
+      "pruning": "Purge…",
+      "prunedNone": "Aucun placeholder orphelin à purger.",
+      "pruned": "{{count}} placeholder(s) orphelin(s) supprimé(s)."
     }
   }
 }

apps/admin-web/src/pages/catalog/CatalogPage.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+import type { CatalogPlaceholderGroupView } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
+import { adminApiClient } from "../../api/client";
+import "../admin-page.scss";
+import "./catalog-page.scss";
+import { type CatalogTab, formatDate, reviewedParam, splitSpellings } from "./catalog";
+
+type CatalogState =
+  | { status: "loading" }
+  | { status: "loaded"; groups: CatalogPlaceholderGroupView[] }
+  | { status: "error" };
+
+/**
+ * Off-catalog ingredient review. Lists every placeholder `Ingredient` (the
+ * free text users typed when the seeded catalog fell short — see
+ * `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in the API schema), grouped by normalized
+ * name, so a maintainer sees what the catalog is missing and how many
+ * recipes are waiting on it. Actions are deliberately minimal: mark a gap
+ * as handled, or purge rows no recipe references any more. Actually adding
+ * the catalog entry stays a manual edit of `reference-seed-data.ts` + the
+ * locale files.
+ */
+export function CatalogPage() {
+  const { t } = useTranslation();
+  const [tab, setTab] = useState<CatalogTab>("pending");
+  const [state, setState] = useState<CatalogState>({ status: "loading" });
+  const [pendingIds, setPendingIds] = useState<number[] | null>(null);
+  const [pruneMessage, setPruneMessage] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [isPruning, setIsPruning] = useState(false);
+
+  const load = useCallback((forTab: CatalogTab) => {
+    setState({ status: "loading" });
+    adminApiClient
+      .getPlaceholders(reviewedParam(forTab))
+      .then((groups) => setState({ status: "loaded", groups }))
+      .catch(() => setState({ status: "error" }));
+  }, []);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    load(tab);
+  }, [tab, load]);
+
+  function markReviewed(group: CatalogPlaceholderGroupView) {
+    setPendingIds(group.ingredientIds);
+    adminApiClient
+      .markPlaceholdersReviewed({ ingredientIds: group.ingredientIds })
+      .then(() => load(tab))
+      .catch(() => load(tab))
+      .finally(() => setPendingIds(null));
+  }
+
+  function pruneOrphans() {
+    setIsPruning(true);
+    setPruneMessage(null);
+    adminApiClient
+      .pruneOrphanPlaceholders()
+      .then(({ deleted }) => {
+        setPruneMessage(
+          deleted === 0
+            ? t("admin.catalog.prunedNone")
+            : t("admin.catalog.pruned", { count: deleted }),
+        );
+        load(tab);
+      })
+      .catch(() => setPruneMessage(t("admin.common.loadError")))
+      .finally(() => setIsPruning(false));
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <div className="admin-page">
+      <h1 className="admin-page__title">{t("admin.catalog.title")}</h1>
+      <p className="admin-page__lead">{t("admin.catalog.lead")}</p>
+
+      <div className="catalog-toolbar">
+        <div className="catalog-tabs" role="tablist">
+          {(["pending", "reviewed"] as const).map((value) => (
+            <button
+              key={value}
+              type="button"
+              role="tab"
+              aria-selected={tab === value}
+              className={tab === value ? "active" : undefined}
+              onClick={() => setTab(value)}
+            >
+              {t(`admin.catalog.tab.${value}`)}
+            </button>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+        <button type="button" onClick={pruneOrphans} disabled={isPruning}>
+          {isPruning ? t("admin.catalog.pruning") : t("admin.catalog.pruneOrphans")}
+        </button>
+      </div>
+      {pruneMessage && <p className="catalog-prune-message">{pruneMessage}</p>}
+
+      {state.status === "loading" && (
+        <p className="admin-page__placeholder">{t("admin.common.loading")}</p>
+      )}
+      {state.status === "error" && (
+        <p className="admin-page__placeholder">{t("admin.common.loadError")}</p>
+      )}
+      {state.status === "loaded" &&
+        (state.groups.length === 0 ? (
+          <p className="admin-page__placeholder">{t("admin.catalog.empty")}</p>
+        ) : (
+          <ul className="catalog-list">
+            {state.groups.map((group) => (
+              <PlaceholderGroupCard
+                key={group.normalizedName}
+                group={group}
+                busy={pendingIds === group.ingredientIds}
+                onMarkReviewed={() => markReviewed(group)}
+              />
+            ))}
+          </ul>
+        ))}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+function PlaceholderGroupCard({
+  group,
+  busy,
+  onMarkReviewed,
+}: {
+  group: CatalogPlaceholderGroupView;
+  busy: boolean;
+  onMarkReviewed: () => void;
+}) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation();
+  const { headline, variants } = splitSpellings(group);
+  const firstSeen = formatDate(group.firstSeenAt);
+
+  return (
+    <li className="catalog-card">
+      <div className="catalog-card__head">
+        <h2 className="catalog-card__name">{headline}</h2>
+        <span className="catalog-card__count">
+          {t("admin.catalog.recipeCount", { count: group.recipeCount })}
+        </span>
+      </div>
+
+      {variants.length > 0 && (
+        <p className="catalog-card__variants">
+          {t("admin.catalog.alsoWritten", { variants: variants.join(" · ") })}
+        </p>
+      )}
+
+      {group.sampleRecipes.length > 0 && (
+        <p className="catalog-card__recipes">
+          {t("admin.catalog.seenIn")} {group.sampleRecipes.map((recipe) => recipe.name).join(", ")}
+        </p>
+      )}
+
+      <div className="catalog-card__foot">
+        {firstSeen && (
+          <span className="catalog-card__seen">
+            {t("admin.catalog.firstSeen", { date: firstSeen })}
+          </span>
+        )}
+        {!group.allReviewed && (
+          <button type="button" onClick={onMarkReviewed} disabled={busy}>
+            {busy ? t("admin.catalog.marking") : t("admin.catalog.markReviewed")}
+          </button>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </li>
+  );
+}

apps/admin-web/src/pages/catalog/catalog-page.scss

@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+// =============================================================================
+// CatalogPage — the off-catalog ingredient review: a pending/reviewed tab
+// switch + "purge orphans" action, then one card per grouped placeholder.
+// Mirrors CorrectionsPage's tab/card vocabulary so the admin app stays
+// visually consistent.
+// =============================================================================
+
+.catalog-toolbar {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: space-between;
+  gap: var(--space-md);
+  margin-bottom: var(--space-md);
+
+  // Right-hand "purge orphans" button — a secondary/destructive action, so
+  // outlined rather than filled like the primary actions elsewhere.
+  > button {
+    padding: var(--space-xs) var(--space-md);
+    font-family: var(--font-body);
+    font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
+    font-weight: 600;
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
+    background: var(--color-surface);
+    border: 1px solid var(--color-border);
+    border-radius: var(--radius-base);
+    cursor: pointer;
+
+    &:hover {
+      border-color: var(--color-error);
+      color: var(--color-error);
+    }
+    &:disabled {
+      opacity: 0.6;
+      cursor: not-allowed;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+.catalog-tabs {
+  display: flex;
+  gap: var(--space-xs);
+
+  button {
+    padding: var(--space-sm) var(--space-md);
+    font-family: var(--font-body);
+    font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
+    font-weight: 600;
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
+    background: none;
+    border: 1px solid var(--color-border);
+    border-radius: var(--radius-base);
+    cursor: pointer;
+
+    &.active {
+      color: var(--color-primary);
+      border-color: var(--color-primary);
+      background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-primary) 10%, var(--color-surface));
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+.catalog-prune-message {
+  margin: 0 0 var(--space-md);
+  font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
+  color: var(--color-text-muted);
+}
+
+.catalog-list {
+  list-style: none;
+  margin: 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: var(--space-sm);
+}
+
+.catalog-card {
+  padding: var(--space-md);
+  background: var(--color-surface);
+  border: 1px solid var(--color-border);
+  border-left: 4px solid var(--color-accent);
+  border-radius: var(--radius-md);
+
+  &__head {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: baseline;
+    justify-content: space-between;
+    gap: var(--space-sm);
+  }
+
+  &__name {
+    font-size: var(--font-size-md);
+    margin: 0;
+  }
+
+  &__count {
+    flex-shrink: 0;
+    font-size: var(--font-size-xs);
+    font-weight: 600;
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  }
+
+  &__variants,
+  &__recipes {
+    margin: var(--space-xs) 0 0;
+    font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  }
+
+  &__foot {
+    display: flex;
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+    align-items: center;
+    justify-content: space-between;
+    gap: var(--space-sm);
+    margin-top: var(--space-sm);
+  }
+
+  &__seen {
+    font-size: var(--font-size-xs);
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  }
+
+  &__foot button {
+    padding: var(--space-xs) var(--space-md);
+    font-family: var(--font-body);
+    font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
+    font-weight: 600;
+    color: var(--color-surface);
+    background: var(--color-primary);
+    border: none;
+    border-radius: var(--radius-base);
+    cursor: pointer;
+
+    &:hover {
+      background: var(--color-primary-hover);
+    }
+    &:disabled {
+      opacity: 0.6;
+      cursor: not-allowed;
+    }
+  }
+}

apps/admin-web/src/pages/catalog/catalog.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+import type { CatalogPlaceholderGroupView } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+
+/**
+ * Pure helpers for `CatalogPage` — kept out of the `.tsx` per repo
+ * convention, unit-tested on their own.
+ */
+
+/** Which server-side list a UI tab maps to — `pending` sends no `reviewed` param (the working list), `reviewed` sends `reviewed=true` (the archive). */
+export type CatalogTab = "pending" | "reviewed";
+
+/** `CatalogTab` → the `reviewed` query value `adminApiClient.getPlaceholders` expects. */
+export function reviewedParam(tab: CatalogTab): "true" | undefined {
+  return tab === "reviewed" ? "true" : undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Splits a group's spellings into the one to show as the card title and the
+ * rest to list as "aussi écrit : …". The API already sorts `displayNames`
+ * alphabetically and none is more canonical than another, so the first is
+ * as good a headline as any — the point of the group is that they're the
+ * same missing ingredient.
+ */
+export function splitSpellings(group: CatalogPlaceholderGroupView): {
+  headline: string;
+  variants: string[];
+} {
+  const [headline = group.normalizedName, ...variants] = group.displayNames;
+  return { headline, variants };
+}
+
+/** `"2026-08-28T09:00:00.000Z"` → `"28/08/2026"` for the "première fois le …" line. `null` → `null`. */
+export function formatDate(iso: string | null): string | null {
+  return iso === null ? null : new Date(iso).toLocaleDateString("fr-FR");
+}

apps/api/prisma/migrations/20260828140000_ingredient_placeholder/migration.sql

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+-- AlterTable: off-catalog ingredient "placeholder" rows. Every existing row
+-- is a real seeded catalog entry, so the flag defaults to false and the four
+-- new nullable columns stay NULL for them — no backfill needed.
+ALTER TABLE "ingredients" ADD COLUMN "is_placeholder" BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT false;
+ALTER TABLE "ingredients" ADD COLUMN "display_name" TEXT;
+ALTER TABLE "ingredients" ADD COLUMN "created_by_id" INTEGER;
+ALTER TABLE "ingredients" ADD COLUMN "created_at" TIMESTAMP(3);
+ALTER TABLE "ingredients" ADD COLUMN "reviewed_at" TIMESTAMP(3);
+
+-- CreateIndex
+CREATE INDEX "ingredients_is_placeholder_idx" ON "ingredients"("is_placeholder");
+
+-- AddForeignKey
+ALTER TABLE "ingredients" ADD CONSTRAINT "ingredients_created_by_id_fkey" FOREIGN KEY ("created_by_id") REFERENCES "user_profiles"("id") ON DELETE SET NULL ON UPDATE CASCADE;

apps/api/prisma/schema.prisma

@@ -129,6 +129,9 @@ model UserProfile {
   /// view a recipe may correct its tech-step matches, not just its author —
   /// see `StepTechStepCorrection.correctorId`).
   techStepCorrections StepTechStepCorrection[]
+  /// Placeholder `Ingredient` rows this profile created by typing a free-text
+  /// ingredient the catalog didn't cover — see `Ingredient.isPlaceholder`.
+  createdIngredientPlaceholders Ingredient[] @relation("PlaceholderCreator")
 
   @@map("user_profiles")
 }
@@ -530,6 +533,38 @@ model Ingredient {
   /// ingredient↔recipe linking in the database, the UI only pre-fills the
   /// catalog's own search with this ingredient's name).
   reproducible Boolean               @default(false)
+  /// `true` = a "placeholder" row: a free-text ingredient a user typed on a
+  /// recipe line because the seeded catalog had nothing matching (see
+  /// specs/batch-cooking-modele.md's "ingrédients hors-catalogue"). Such a
+  /// row has `displayName` non-null, a generated `key` (`placeholder:<uuid>`,
+  /// never an i18n label), and the default metadata (`JAR`/`dryGoods`/`other`,
+  /// no allergen/diet links). It is referenced by `RecipeIngredient` like any
+  /// other `Ingredient`, but `GET /reference/ingredients` and
+  /// `ingredient-matcher.ts`'s `loadIngredientCatalog` both exclude it — it is
+  /// never a browsable/matchable target, only a per-line stand-in a
+  /// maintainer later promotes into a real catalog entry by hand. The
+  /// `/admin/catalog/placeholders` view groups these by normalized name so
+  /// the maintainer sees which ingredients the catalog is missing.
+  isPlaceholder Boolean              @default(false) @map("is_placeholder")
+  /// Display name of a placeholder ingredient — the exact text the user
+  /// typed. `null` for a real catalog row (whose label lives in i18n under
+  /// `catalog.ingredients.<key>`). Invariant "non-null iff `isPlaceholder`"
+  /// is enforced service-side, not by the schema (same posture as other
+  /// cross-field invariants here).
+  displayName   String?              @map("display_name")
+  /// Profile that first created this placeholder — context for the admin
+  /// catalog-gap review. `onDelete: SetNull` so deleting an account never
+  /// blocks on, or cascades into, the recipes that still use its placeholder.
+  /// `null` for a real catalog row.
+  createdById   Int?                 @map("created_by_id")
+  /// When this placeholder was created. `null` for a real catalog row (the
+  /// seed carries no timestamp).
+  createdAt     DateTime?            @map("created_at")
+  /// Stamped when an admin has triaged this catalog gap
+  /// (`PATCH /admin/catalog/placeholders/mark-reviewed`) — the group then
+  /// drops out of the default "à traiter" list. `null` while pending / for a
+  /// real catalog row.
+  reviewedAt    DateTime?            @map("reviewed_at")
 
   recipes       RecipeIngredient[]
   allergies     IngredientAllergy[]
@@ -540,7 +575,10 @@ model Ingredient {
   /// Mentions of this ingredient detected in a step's free text alongside a
   /// technique — see `StepTechStepIngredient`.
   stepTechSteps StepTechStepIngredient[]
+  /// The profile that created this row when it is a placeholder — see `createdById`.
+  createdBy     UserProfile?          @relation("PlaceholderCreator", fields: [createdById], references: [id], onDelete: SetNull)
 
+  @@index([isPlaceholder])
   @@map("ingredients")
 }
 

apps/api/src/lib/recipe-matching/ingredient-matcher.ts

@@ -427,6 +427,11 @@ export async function loadIngredientCatalog(locale = "en"): Promise<IngredientMa
     const labels = INGREDIENT_LABELS_BY_LOCALE[locale] ?? {};
     const synonyms = INGREDIENT_LABEL_SYNONYMS_BY_LOCALE[locale] ?? {};
     const ingredients = await prisma.ingredient.findMany({
+      // Placeholder rows (user free-text, `placeholder:<uuid>` key) have no
+      // authored label so they'd be skipped by the `label === undefined`
+      // check below anyway — filtered here too so an import never even
+      // considers resolving one raw line to another line's placeholder.
+      where: { isPlaceholder: false },
       select: { id: true, key: true },
     });
     const catalog: IngredientMatchEntry[] = [];

apps/api/src/modules/admin/admin-catalog.routes.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { wrapAsyncHandler } from "@batch-cooking/express-tools";
+import { listPlaceholdersQuerySchema, markPlaceholdersReviewedSchema } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+import { Router } from "express";
+import { requireAdmin } from "../../middlewares/require-admin.js";
+import {
+  listPlaceholderGroups,
+  markPlaceholdersReviewed,
+  pruneOrphanPlaceholders,
+} from "./admin-catalog.service.js";
+
+/**
+ * Router mounted at `/admin/catalog` (via `admin.routes.ts`) — every route
+ * behind {@link requireAdmin}. Surfaces the off-catalog ingredient
+ * "placeholders" users typed when the seeded catalog fell short, so a
+ * maintainer can see what's missing and mark gaps as handled.
+ */
+export const adminCatalogRouter = Router();
+
+adminCatalogRouter.get(
+  "/placeholders",
+  requireAdmin,
+  wrapAsyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
+    res.status(200).json(await listPlaceholderGroups(listPlaceholdersQuerySchema.parse(req.query)));
+  }),
+);
+
+adminCatalogRouter.patch(
+  "/placeholders/mark-reviewed",
+  requireAdmin,
+  wrapAsyncHandler(async (req, res) => {
+    res
+      .status(200)
+      .json(await markPlaceholdersReviewed(markPlaceholdersReviewedSchema.parse(req.body)));
+  }),
+);
+
+/** Deletes placeholder rows no recipe references any more — see {@link pruneOrphanPlaceholders}. */
+adminCatalogRouter.post(
+  "/placeholders/prune-orphans",
+  requireAdmin,
+  wrapAsyncHandler(async (_req, res) => {
+    res.status(200).json(await pruneOrphanPlaceholders());
+  }),
+);

apps/api/src/modules/admin/admin-catalog.service.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+import type {
+  CatalogPlaceholderGroupView,
+  ListPlaceholdersQuery,
+  MarkPlaceholdersReviewedInput,
+  PruneOrphansResultView,
+} from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+import { prisma } from "../../db/prisma.js";
+
+/**
+ * Grouping key for two placeholder spellings that mean the same missing
+ * ingredient — lower-cased, accent-stripped, punctuation-neutralised,
+ * whitespace-collapsed. "Piment d'Espelette", "piment d espelette" and
+ * "PIMENT  D'ESPELETTE" all normalise to `"piment d espelette"`, so the
+ * admin view shows one gap, not three. Pure (no DB) — unit-tested on its
+ * own, same split convention as `matchXxx()` vs `loadXxx()` elsewhere.
+ */
+export function normalizePlaceholderName(raw: string): string {
+  return raw
+    .normalize("NFD")
+    .replace(/\p{Diacritic}/gu, "")
+    .toLowerCase()
+    .replace(/[^\p{Letter}\p{Number}]+/gu, " ")
+    .trim()
+    .replace(/\s+/g, " ");
+}
+
+/** Prisma `include` for the placeholder query — up to a few `RecipeIngredient` links per row, each with just enough of its recipe for the "seen in…" preview and the distinct-recipe count. */
+const placeholderInclude = {
+  recipes: {
+    take: 5,
+    include: { recipe: { select: { id: true, name: true } } },
+  },
+} as const;
+
+/**
+ * Every placeholder `Ingredient` (see `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in
+ * schema.prisma), grouped by {@link normalizePlaceholderName} so a
+ * maintainer reviews one row per *missing ingredient* rather than one per
+ * recipe line. Ordered by recipe impact (most-requested gap first), then
+ * name.
+ *
+ * `query.reviewed` selects which side to show: omitted / `"false"` drops
+ * groups whose every row has already been triaged (`reviewedAt` set) — the
+ * default working list; `"true"` keeps only those fully-triaged groups.
+ */
+export async function listPlaceholderGroups(
+  query: ListPlaceholdersQuery,
+): Promise<CatalogPlaceholderGroupView[]> {
+  try {
+    const rows = await prisma.ingredient.findMany({
+      where: { isPlaceholder: true },
+      include: placeholderInclude,
+      orderBy: { createdAt: "asc" },
+    });
+
+    /** Accumulator per normalized name — mutated in the loop, shaped into the view after. */
+    interface GroupAccumulator {
+      normalizedName: string;
+      displayNames: Set<string>;
+      ingredientIds: number[];
+      recipeIds: Set<number>;
+      sampleRecipes: Map<number, string>;
+      firstSeenAt: Date | null;
+      allReviewed: boolean;
+    }
+    const groups = new Map<string, GroupAccumulator>();
+
+    for (const row of rows) {
+      const name = row.displayName ?? "";
+      const normalizedName = normalizePlaceholderName(name);
+      let group = groups.get(normalizedName);
+      if (!group) {
+        group = {
+          normalizedName,
+          displayNames: new Set(),
+          ingredientIds: [],
+          recipeIds: new Set(),
+          sampleRecipes: new Map(),
+          firstSeenAt: null,
+          allReviewed: true,
+        };
+        groups.set(normalizedName, group);
+      }
+      if (name.length > 0) group.displayNames.add(name);
+      group.ingredientIds.push(row.id);
+      for (const link of row.recipes) {
+        group.recipeIds.add(link.recipe.id);
+        if (group.sampleRecipes.size < 5) group.sampleRecipes.set(link.recipe.id, link.recipe.name);
+      }
+      if (row.createdAt && (group.firstSeenAt === null || row.createdAt < group.firstSeenAt)) {
+        group.firstSeenAt = row.createdAt;
+      }
+      if (row.reviewedAt === null) group.allReviewed = false;
+    }
+
+    // `reviewed=true` → the archive of handled gaps; anything else → the
+    // working list of gaps still to look at.
+    const wantReviewed = query.reviewed === "true";
+    return [...groups.values()]
+      .filter((group) => group.allReviewed === wantReviewed)
+      .map((group) => ({
+        normalizedName: group.normalizedName,
+        displayNames: [...group.displayNames].sort((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b, "fr")),
+        ingredientIds: group.ingredientIds,
+        recipeCount: group.recipeIds.size,
+        sampleRecipes: [...group.sampleRecipes.entries()].map(([id, name]) => ({ id, name })),
+        firstSeenAt: group.firstSeenAt?.toISOString() ?? null,
+        allReviewed: group.allReviewed,
+      }))
+      .sort(
+        (a, b) => b.recipeCount - a.recipeCount || a.normalizedName.localeCompare(b.normalizedName),
+      );
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw err; // see recipe.service.ts's equivalent catch comment
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Stamps `reviewedAt` on the given placeholder ids — a maintainer has seen
+ * this gap (and, if it warranted it, added the real catalog entry by hand;
+ * this endpoint never touches the catalog itself). Scoped to
+ * `isPlaceholder: true` so a stray real id is a silent no-op, not a
+ * mislabel. Returns how many rows were actually stamped.
+ */
+export async function markPlaceholdersReviewed(
+  input: MarkPlaceholdersReviewedInput,
+): Promise<{ reviewed: number }> {
+  try {
+    const { count } = await prisma.ingredient.updateMany({
+      where: { id: { in: input.ingredientIds }, isPlaceholder: true },
+      data: { reviewedAt: new Date() },
+    });
+    return { reviewed: count };
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw err; // see recipe.service.ts's equivalent catch comment
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Deletes placeholder rows no recipe references any more — the debris left
+ * when a recipe edit drops a placeholder line (the `RecipeIngredient` row
+ * goes, the `Ingredient` row doesn't). A manual GC (button in the admin
+ * catalog view, or `scripts/prune-orphan-placeholders.ts`) rather than a
+ * cascade: a placeholder is still evidence of a catalog gap even with no
+ * live recipe, so dropping it is a deliberate call, not automatic.
+ */
+export async function pruneOrphanPlaceholders(): Promise<PruneOrphansResultView> {
+  try {
+    const { count } = await prisma.ingredient.deleteMany({
+      where: { isPlaceholder: true, recipes: { none: {} } },
+    });
+    return { deleted: count };
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw err; // see recipe.service.ts's equivalent catch comment
+  }
+}

apps/api/src/modules/admin/admin.routes.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Router } from "express";
 import { adminAuthRouter } from "./admin-auth.routes.js";
+import { adminCatalogRouter } from "./admin-catalog.routes.js";
 import { adminMetricsRouter } from "./admin-metrics.routes.js";
 import { adminMonitoringRouter } from "./admin-monitoring.routes.js";
 import { adminTechStepsRouter } from "./admin-tech-steps.routes.js";
@@ -8,8 +9,9 @@ import { adminTechStepsRouter } from "./admin-tech-steps.routes.js";
  * Aggregator for the admin application's API surface, mounted at `/admin`
  * in `app.ts`. Every sub-router here is for `apps/admin-web` only —
  * `/admin/auth` is public (login), everything added later
- * (`/admin/metrics`, `/admin/monitoring`, `/admin/tech-steps/*`) sits
+ * (`/admin/metrics`, `/admin/monitoring`, `/admin/tech-steps/*`,
- * behind `requireAdmin` (`middlewares/require-admin.ts`).
+ * `/admin/catalog/*`) sits behind `requireAdmin`
+ * (`middlewares/require-admin.ts`).
  */
 export const adminRouter = Router();
 
@@ -17,3 +19,4 @@ adminRouter.use("/auth", adminAuthRouter);
 adminRouter.use("/metrics", adminMetricsRouter);
 adminRouter.use("/monitoring", adminMonitoringRouter);
 adminRouter.use("/tech-steps", adminTechStepsRouter);
+adminRouter.use("/catalog", adminCatalogRouter);

apps/api/src/modules/recipe/recipe.service.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
 import { HttpError } from "@batch-cooking/error-tools";
 import {
   type AllergyView,
@@ -109,6 +110,12 @@ export function toIngredientView(ingredient: IngredientWithDetails): IngredientV
       kind: allergy.category.kind,
     })),
     diets: ingredient.diets.map(({ diet }) => ({ id: diet.id, key: diet.key })),
+    // A placeholder line round-trips as a normal `Ingredient` with a real
+    // id — the frontend tells it apart by this flag (badge, no
+    // allergen/diet info) and shows `displayName` verbatim instead of
+    // looking up an i18n label that doesn't exist for a `placeholder:` key.
+    isPlaceholder: ingredient.isPlaceholder,
+    displayName: ingredient.displayName,
   };
 }
 
@@ -542,6 +549,69 @@ async function matchStepsTechSteps<T extends { description: string }>(
   );
 }
 
+/** One resolved ingredient line — every `placeholderName` has been turned into a real (placeholder) `ingredientId`, ready for a `RecipeIngredient` create. */
+interface ResolvedIngredientLine {
+  ingredientId: number;
+  quantity: number;
+  unitId: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Turns each `input.ingredients` line into a {@link ResolvedIngredientLine}:
+ * a line that already carries an `ingredientId` (a catalog pick, or an
+ * existing placeholder round-tripping through an edit) passes through
+ * unchanged; a `placeholderName` line gets a fresh placeholder `Ingredient`
+ * row (`isPlaceholder: true`, a generated `placeholder:<uuid>` key, the
+ * typed text as `displayName`, stamped with `authorId`/now) created via
+ * `tx` — so it rolls back together with the recipe if anything later in the
+ * same transaction fails, never leaving an orphan behind.
+ *
+ * Returns the created placeholders separately so the caller can emit one
+ * `ingredient.placeholder_created` analytics event per row *after* the
+ * transaction commits (the recipe id it wants in the event context doesn't
+ * exist yet in here).
+ */
+async function resolveIngredientLines(
+  lines: CreateRecipeInput["ingredients"],
+  authorId: number,
+  tx: Prisma.TransactionClient,
+): Promise<{
+  resolved: ResolvedIngredientLine[];
+  createdPlaceholders: { id: number; name: string }[];
+}> {
+  try {
+    const resolved: ResolvedIngredientLine[] = [];
+    const createdPlaceholders: { id: number; name: string }[] = [];
+    for (const line of lines) {
+      if (line.ingredientId !== undefined) {
+        resolved.push({
+          ingredientId: line.ingredientId,
+          quantity: line.quantity,
+          unitId: line.unitId,
+        });
+        continue;
+      }
+      // `recipeIngredientInputSchema`'s refine guarantees the other branch.
+      const name = (line.placeholderName ?? "").trim();
+      const placeholder = await tx.ingredient.create({
+        data: {
+          key: `placeholder:${randomUUID()}`,
+          isPlaceholder: true,
+          displayName: name,
+          createdById: authorId,
+          createdAt: new Date(),
+        },
+        select: { id: true },
+      });
+      resolved.push({ ingredientId: placeholder.id, quantity: line.quantity, unitId: line.unitId });
+      createdPlaceholders.push({ id: placeholder.id, name });
+    }
+    return { resolved, createdPlaceholders };
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw err; // see suitableForHouseholdWhere()'s catch comment above
+  }
+}
+
 async function createRecipeInternal(
   input: CreateRecipeInput,
   authorId: number,
@@ -549,7 +619,9 @@ async function createRecipeInternal(
   source: { sourceId: number; externalId: string; locale: string } | null,
 ): Promise<RecipeView> {
   try {
-    await assertIngredientsExist(input.ingredients.map((i) => i.ingredientId));
+    await assertIngredientsExist(
+      input.ingredients.map((i) => i.ingredientId).filter((id): id is number => id !== undefined),
+    );
     await assertUnitsExist(input.ingredients.map((i) => i.unitId));
     await assertDietsExist(input.dietIds);
     // Matched up front (one call per step, in parallel) rather than inline
@@ -562,7 +634,16 @@ async function createRecipeInternal(
       source?.locale ?? DEFAULT_TECH_STEP_LOCALE,
     );
 
-    const created = await prisma.recipe.create({
+    // One transaction so the free-text placeholder `Ingredient` rows and the
+    // recipe that references them commit together — a failed recipe create
+    // must never leave orphan placeholders behind.
+    const { created, createdPlaceholders } = await prisma.$transaction(async (tx) => {
+      const { resolved, createdPlaceholders } = await resolveIngredientLines(
+        input.ingredients,
+        authorId,
+        tx,
+      );
+      const created = await tx.recipe.create({
         data: {
           name: input.name,
           description: input.description ?? null,
@@ -574,10 +655,10 @@ async function createRecipeInternal(
           sourceId: source?.sourceId ?? null,
           externalId: source?.externalId ?? null,
           ingredients: {
-          create: input.ingredients.map((ingredient) => ({
+            create: resolved.map((line) => ({
-            ingredientId: ingredient.ingredientId,
+              ingredientId: line.ingredientId,
-            quantity: ingredient.quantity,
+              quantity: line.quantity,
-            unitId: ingredient.unitId,
+              unitId: line.unitId,
             })),
           },
           steps: {
@@ -617,11 +698,19 @@ async function createRecipeInternal(
         },
         include: recipeInclude(authorId),
       });
+      return { created, createdPlaceholders };
+    });
 
     analytics.recordEvent(source === null ? "recipe.created" : "recipe.imported", {
       actorId: authorId,
       context: { recipeId: created.id, sourceId: source?.sourceId ?? null },
     });
+    for (const placeholder of createdPlaceholders) {
+      analytics.recordEvent("ingredient.placeholder_created", {
+        actorId: authorId,
+        context: { name: placeholder.name, ingredientId: placeholder.id, recipeId: created.id },
+      });
+    }
 
     return toRecipeView(created);
   } catch (err) {
@@ -650,16 +739,30 @@ export async function updateRecipe(
 ): Promise<RecipeView> {
   try {
     await assertIsAuthor(id, viewerId, viewerHouseId);
-    await assertIngredientsExist(input.ingredients.map((i) => i.ingredientId));
+    await assertIngredientsExist(
+      input.ingredients
+        .map((i) => i.ingredientId)
+        .filter((ingredientId): ingredientId is number => ingredientId !== undefined),
+    );
     await assertUnitsExist(input.ingredients.map((i) => i.unitId));
     await assertDietsExist(input.dietIds);
     const stepsWithTechSteps = await matchStepsTechSteps(input.steps, DEFAULT_TECH_STEP_LOCALE);
 
-    await prisma.$transaction([
+    // Interactive transaction (not the array form) so any new free-text
-      prisma.recipeIngredient.deleteMany({ where: { recipeId: id } }),
+    // placeholder rows are created in the same atomic unit as the
-      prisma.step.deleteMany({ where: { recipeId: id } }),
+    // delete+recreate of the recipe's content. An *existing* placeholder
-      prisma.recipeDiet.deleteMany({ where: { recipeId: id } }),
+    // line round-trips by its real `ingredientId` and is left untouched;
-      prisma.recipe.update({
+    // only a brand-new `placeholderName` line creates a row here.
+    const createdPlaceholders = await prisma.$transaction(async (tx) => {
+      await tx.recipeIngredient.deleteMany({ where: { recipeId: id } });
+      await tx.step.deleteMany({ where: { recipeId: id } });
+      await tx.recipeDiet.deleteMany({ where: { recipeId: id } });
+      const { resolved, createdPlaceholders } = await resolveIngredientLines(
+        input.ingredients,
+        viewerId,
+        tx,
+      );
+      await tx.recipe.update({
         where: { id },
         data: {
           name: input.name,
@@ -668,10 +771,10 @@ export async function updateRecipe(
           portions: input.portions,
           visibility: input.visibility,
           ingredients: {
-            create: input.ingredients.map((ingredient) => ({
+            create: resolved.map((line) => ({
-              ingredientId: ingredient.ingredientId,
+              ingredientId: line.ingredientId,
-              quantity: ingredient.quantity,
+              quantity: line.quantity,
-              unitId: ingredient.unitId,
+              unitId: line.unitId,
             })),
           },
           steps: {
@@ -693,8 +796,16 @@ export async function updateRecipe(
           },
           diets: { create: input.dietIds.map((dietId) => ({ dietId })) },
         },
-      }),
+      });
-    ]);
+      return createdPlaceholders;
+    });
+
+    for (const placeholder of createdPlaceholders) {
+      analytics.recordEvent("ingredient.placeholder_created", {
+        actorId: viewerId,
+        context: { name: placeholder.name, ingredientId: placeholder.id, recipeId: id },
+      });
+    }
 
     return toRecipeView(await findRecipeOrThrow(id, viewerId));
   } catch (err) {

apps/api/src/modules/reference/reference.service.ts

@@ -133,10 +133,16 @@ export async function getSources(): Promise<SourceView[]> {
  * and compatible diet regimes (see `IngredientDiet`) — same flattening
  * approach as {@link getAllergies}. Ingredients with no linked
  * allergen/diet come back with `allergens: []`/`diets: []`.
+ *
+ * Excludes placeholder rows (`Ingredient.isPlaceholder` — the free-text
+ * ingredients users type when the catalog falls short): this is the
+ * *browsable* catalog, and a placeholder is a per-recipe-line stand-in, not
+ * a real entry anyone should be able to pick again.
  */
 export async function getIngredients(): Promise<IngredientView[]> {
   try {
     const ingredients = await prisma.ingredient.findMany({
+      where: { isPlaceholder: false },
       include: {
         allergies: { include: { allergy: { include: { category: true } } } },
         diets: { include: { diet: true } },
@@ -159,6 +165,9 @@ export async function getIngredients(): Promise<IngredientView[]> {
         id: diet.id,
         key: diet.key,
       })),
+      // Always a real catalog row here (placeholders are filtered out above).
+      isPlaceholder: false,
+      displayName: null,
     }));
   } catch (err) {
     throw err; // see getDiets()'s catch comment above

apps/api/src/scripts/prune-orphan-placeholders.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import { prisma } from "../db/prisma.js";
+import { pruneOrphanPlaceholders } from "../modules/admin/admin-catalog.service.js";
+
+/**
+ * Deletes every placeholder `Ingredient` row (`Ingredient.isPlaceholder`)
+ * that no recipe references any more — the debris left behind when a recipe
+ * edit drops a placeholder line (the `RecipeIngredient` row goes, the
+ * `Ingredient` row stays). The admin catalog view has a button for this
+ * too; this script is the same operation for a cron / one-off cleanup:
+ *
+ *   pnpm --filter api exec tsx src/scripts/prune-orphan-placeholders.ts
+ *
+ * Delegates to `admin-catalog.service.ts` so the "what counts as an orphan"
+ * rule lives in exactly one place.
+ */
+async function main(): Promise<void> {
+  const { deleted } = await pruneOrphanPlaceholders();
+  console.info(`Pruned ${deleted} orphan placeholder ingredient(s).`);
+}
+
+main()
+  .then(() => prisma.$disconnect())
+  .catch(async (err) => {
+    console.error(err);
+    await prisma.$disconnect();
+    process.exit(1);
+  });

apps/api/test/admin-catalog-normalize.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { expect } from "chai";
+import { normalizePlaceholderName } from "../src/modules/admin/admin-catalog.service.js";
+
+/**
+ * Pure unit tests for {@link normalizePlaceholderName} — the grouping key
+ * that collapses near-duplicate placeholder spellings into one catalog gap.
+ * No database, so this file can run standalone (`mocha --no-config`) as
+ * well as inside the full suite.
+ */
+describe("normalizePlaceholderName", () => {
+  it("lower-cases, strips accents and collapses whitespace", () => {
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("  Piment   d'Espelette  ")).to.equal("piment d espelette");
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("PIMENT D’ESPELETTE")).to.equal("piment d espelette");
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("piment d espelette")).to.equal("piment d espelette");
+  });
+
+  it("neutralises punctuation to a single space", () => {
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("sel & poivre")).to.equal("sel poivre");
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("sel, poivre")).to.equal("sel poivre");
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("fleur-de-sel")).to.equal("fleur de sel");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps digits (a quantity baked into the name still distinguishes it)", () => {
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("Chocolat 70%")).to.equal("chocolat 70");
+  });
+
+  it("maps an all-punctuation / empty string to an empty key", () => {
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("")).to.equal("");
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("   ")).to.equal("");
+    expect(normalizePlaceholderName("--- ///")).to.equal("");
+  });
+});

apps/api/test/admin-catalog.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+import { faker } from "@faker-js/faker";
+import { expect } from "chai";
+import request from "supertest";
+import { createApp } from "../src/app.js";
+import { prisma } from "../src/db/prisma.js";
+import { hashAdminPassword } from "../src/modules/admin/admin-auth.service.js";
+import { resetDatabase } from "../test-support/reset-db.js";
+
+async function seedAdmin(): Promise<{ email: string; password: string }> {
+  const email = faker.internet.email().toLowerCase();
+  const password = faker.internet.password({ length: 16 });
+  await prisma.adminUser.create({
+    data: { email, name: faker.person.fullName(), passwordHash: await hashAdminPassword(password) },
+  });
+  return { email, password };
+}
+
+/** A recipe with one placeholder ingredient line whose `displayName` is `name`. Returns the placeholder `Ingredient` id. */
+async function seedPlaceholderRecipe(name: string): Promise<number> {
+  const author = await prisma.userProfile.create({
+    data: {
+      firstName: "T",
+      lastName: "A",
+      email: `${faker.string.uuid()}@example.test`,
+      passwordHash: "x",
+    },
+  });
+  const unit = await prisma.unit.findFirstOrThrow({ where: { key: "piece" } });
+  const placeholder = await prisma.ingredient.create({
+    data: {
+      key: `placeholder:${faker.string.uuid()}`,
+      isPlaceholder: true,
+      displayName: name,
+      createdById: author.id,
+      createdAt: new Date(),
+    },
+  });
+  await prisma.recipe.create({
+    data: {
+      name: faker.lorem.words(3),
+      authorId: author.id,
+      portions: 2,
+      ingredients: { create: [{ ingredientId: placeholder.id, quantity: 1, unitId: unit.id }] },
+    },
+  });
+  return placeholder.id;
+}
+
+/**
+ * `/admin/catalog/*` — the off-catalog ingredient review. Every route is
+ * behind `requireAdmin`; the list groups placeholder rows by normalized
+ * name, `mark-reviewed` stamps `reviewedAt`, `prune-orphans` deletes rows
+ * no recipe references any more.
+ */
+describe("Admin catalog — off-catalog ingredients", () => {
+  const app = createApp();
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    await resetDatabase();
+  });
+
+  after(async () => {
+    await prisma.$disconnect();
+  });
+
+  async function adminAgent() {
+    const { email, password } = await seedAdmin();
+    const agent = request.agent(app);
+    await agent.post("/admin/auth/login").send({ email, password });
+    return agent;
+  }
+
+  it("rejects every route without an admin session", async () => {
+    const get = await request(app).get("/admin/catalog/placeholders");
+    expect(get.status).to.equal(401);
+    const patch = await request(app)
+      .patch("/admin/catalog/placeholders/mark-reviewed")
+      .send({ ingredientIds: [1] });
+    expect(patch.status).to.equal(401);
+    const post = await request(app).post("/admin/catalog/placeholders/prune-orphans");
+    expect(post.status).to.equal(401);
+  });
+
+  it("groups two spellings of the same missing ingredient into one row", async () => {
+    await seedPlaceholderRecipe("Piment d'Espelette");
+    await seedPlaceholderRecipe("piment d espelette");
+    await seedPlaceholderRecipe("Sumac");
+
+    const agent = await adminAgent();
+    const res = await agent.get("/admin/catalog/placeholders");
+    expect(res.status).to.equal(200);
+    expect(res.body).to.have.length(2);
+
+    const espelette = res.body.find(
+      (g: { normalizedName: string }) => g.normalizedName === "piment d espelette",
+    );
+    expect(espelette.recipeCount).to.equal(2);
+    expect(espelette.ingredientIds).to.have.length(2);
+    expect(espelette.displayNames).to.have.members(["Piment d'Espelette", "piment d espelette"]);
+    // Impact-ordered: the 2-recipe gap before the 1-recipe one.
+    expect(res.body[0].normalizedName).to.equal("piment d espelette");
+  });
+
+  it("mark-reviewed stamps reviewedAt and moves the group out of the default list", async () => {
+    const id = await seedPlaceholderRecipe("Galanga");
+    const agent = await adminAgent();
+
+    const patched = await agent
+      .patch("/admin/catalog/placeholders/mark-reviewed")
+      .send({ ingredientIds: [id] });
+    expect(patched.status).to.equal(200);
+    expect(patched.body.reviewed).to.equal(1);
+    expect(
+      (await prisma.ingredient.findUniqueOrThrow({ where: { id } })).reviewedAt,
+    ).to.be.an.instanceOf(Date);
+
+    const pending = await agent.get("/admin/catalog/placeholders");
+    expect(pending.body).to.have.length(0);
+    const reviewed = await agent.get("/admin/catalog/placeholders").query({ reviewed: "true" });
+    expect(reviewed.body).to.have.length(1);
+    expect(reviewed.body[0].allReviewed).to.equal(true);
+  });
+
+  it("prune-orphans deletes only placeholder rows with no recipe left", async () => {
+    await seedPlaceholderRecipe("Encore utilisé");
+    await prisma.ingredient.create({
+      data: {
+        key: `placeholder:${faker.string.uuid()}`,
+        isPlaceholder: true,
+        displayName: "Orphelin",
+        createdAt: new Date(),
+      },
+    });
+
+    const agent = await adminAgent();
+    const res = await agent.post("/admin/catalog/placeholders/prune-orphans");
+    expect(res.status).to.equal(200);
+    expect(res.body.deleted).to.equal(1);
+    expect(await prisma.ingredient.count({ where: { isPlaceholder: true } })).to.equal(1);
+  });
+});

apps/api/test/recipe-placeholder.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+import type { SignupInput } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+import { ErrorCode } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+import { faker } from "@faker-js/faker";
+import { expect } from "chai";
+import request from "supertest";
+import { createApp } from "../src/app.js";
+import { prisma } from "../src/db/prisma.js";
+import { resetDatabase } from "../test-support/reset-db.js";
+
+/** See `auth.test.ts` — generated, never a real-looking person. */
+function buildSignupPayload(): SignupInput {
+  const firstName = faker.person.firstName();
+  const lastName = faker.person.lastName();
+  return {
+    firstName,
+    lastName,
+    email: faker.internet.email({ firstName, lastName }).toLowerCase(),
+    password: faker.internet.password({ length: 16 }),
+  };
+}
+
+/** Resolves a reference unit's id by its seed uid (also its DB `key`). */
+async function unitId(key: string): Promise<number> {
+  return (await prisma.unit.findFirstOrThrow({ where: { key } })).id;
+}
+
+/** Resolves a reference ingredient's id by its seed uid. */
+async function ingredientId(key: string): Promise<number> {
+  return (await prisma.ingredient.findFirstOrThrow({ where: { key } })).id;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The off-catalog ("placeholder") ingredient escape hatch on `POST /recipes`
+ * / `PATCH /recipes/:id` — a line with `placeholderName` instead of
+ * `ingredientId` creates a dedicated `Ingredient` row
+ * (`isPlaceholder: true`) so the recipe still saves, and that row is
+ * surfaced (with its `displayName`) inside the recipe but never in the
+ * browsable catalog.
+ */
+describe("Recipes — off-catalog placeholder ingredients", () => {
+  const app = createApp();
+
+  async function signup(): Promise<{ agent: ReturnType<typeof request.agent>; profileId: number }> {
+    const agent = request.agent(app);
+    const res = await agent.post("/auth/signup").send(buildSignupPayload());
+    return { agent, profileId: res.body.id };
+  }
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    await resetDatabase();
+  });
+
+  after(async () => {
+    await prisma.$disconnect();
+  });
+
+  it("creates a placeholder Ingredient row for a `placeholderName` line and returns it inside the recipe", async () => {
+    const { agent, profileId } = await signup();
+    const piece = await unitId("piece");
+    const tomato = await ingredientId("tomato");
+
+    const res = await agent.post("/recipes").send({
+      name: "Poulet basquaise",
+      portions: 4,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [
+        { ingredientId: tomato, quantity: 3, unitId: piece },
+        { placeholderName: "Piment d'Espelette", quantity: 1, unitId: piece },
+      ],
+      steps: [{ description: "Tout mélanger" }],
+    });
+
+    expect(res.status).to.equal(201);
+    expect(res.body.ingredients).to.have.length(2);
+
+    const placeholderLine = res.body.ingredients.find(
+      (line: { ingredient: { isPlaceholder: boolean } }) => line.ingredient.isPlaceholder,
+    );
+    expect(placeholderLine, "a placeholder line is present").to.not.equal(undefined);
+    expect(placeholderLine.ingredient.displayName).to.equal("Piment d'Espelette");
+    expect(placeholderLine.ingredient.key).to.match(/^placeholder:/);
+    expect(placeholderLine.ingredient.allergens).to.deep.equal([]);
+    expect(placeholderLine.quantity).to.equal(1);
+
+    const row = await prisma.ingredient.findUniqueOrThrow({
+      where: { id: placeholderLine.ingredient.id },
+    });
+    expect(row.isPlaceholder).to.equal(true);
+    expect(row.displayName).to.equal("Piment d'Espelette");
+    expect(row.createdById).to.equal(profileId);
+    expect(row.createdAt).to.be.an.instanceOf(Date);
+    expect(row.reviewedAt).to.equal(null);
+  });
+
+  it("never lists placeholder rows in GET /reference/ingredients", async () => {
+    const { agent } = await signup();
+    const piece = await unitId("piece");
+
+    await agent.post("/recipes").send({
+      name: "Test",
+      portions: 2,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [{ placeholderName: "Feuille de combava", quantity: 1, unitId: piece }],
+      steps: [{ description: "x" }],
+    });
+
+    const reference = await agent.get("/reference/ingredients");
+    expect(reference.status).to.equal(200);
+    expect(
+      reference.body.some(
+        (i: { isPlaceholder?: boolean; displayName?: string }) =>
+          i.isPlaceholder === true || i.displayName === "Feuille de combava",
+      ),
+    ).to.equal(false);
+  });
+
+  it("reuses the existing placeholder row on edit (no duplicate) and drops it when the line is removed", async () => {
+    const { agent } = await signup();
+    const piece = await unitId("piece");
+    const tomato = await ingredientId("tomato");
+
+    const created = await agent.post("/recipes").send({
+      name: "Édition",
+      portions: 2,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [{ placeholderName: "Sumac", quantity: 1, unitId: piece }],
+      steps: [{ description: "x" }],
+    });
+    const placeholderId = created.body.ingredients[0].ingredient.id;
+
+    // Re-submit the same recipe, keeping the placeholder line by its real id.
+    const edited = await agent.patch(`/recipes/${created.body.id}`).send({
+      name: "Édition",
+      portions: 2,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [
+        { ingredientId: placeholderId, quantity: 2, unitId: piece },
+        { ingredientId: tomato, quantity: 1, unitId: piece },
+      ],
+      steps: [{ description: "x" }],
+    });
+    expect(edited.status).to.equal(200);
+    expect(await prisma.ingredient.count({ where: { isPlaceholder: true } })).to.equal(1);
+
+    // Now edit again, dropping the placeholder line entirely.
+    await agent.patch(`/recipes/${created.body.id}`).send({
+      name: "Édition",
+      portions: 2,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [{ ingredientId: tomato, quantity: 1, unitId: piece }],
+      steps: [{ description: "x" }],
+    });
+    // The row is now an orphan (kept on purpose — the admin catalog view
+    // prunes it), but no *new* placeholder was created.
+    expect(await prisma.ingredient.count({ where: { isPlaceholder: true } })).to.equal(1);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects a line carrying both ingredientId and placeholderName with 400", async () => {
+    const { agent } = await signup();
+    const piece = await unitId("piece");
+    const tomato = await ingredientId("tomato");
+
+    const res = await agent.post("/recipes").send({
+      name: "Invalide",
+      portions: 2,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [
+        { ingredientId: tomato, placeholderName: "Tomate", quantity: 1, unitId: piece },
+      ],
+      steps: [{ description: "x" }],
+    });
+
+    expect(res.status).to.equal(400);
+    expect(res.body.code).to.equal(ErrorCode.VALIDATION_ERROR);
+  });
+
+  it("allows two placeholder lines with the same text (each becomes its own row)", async () => {
+    const { agent } = await signup();
+    const piece = await unitId("piece");
+
+    const res = await agent.post("/recipes").send({
+      name: "Doublons libres",
+      portions: 2,
+      dietIds: [],
+      ingredients: [
+        { placeholderName: "Herbes de garrigue", quantity: 1, unitId: piece },
+        { placeholderName: "Herbes de garrigue", quantity: 2, unitId: piece },
+      ],
+      steps: [{ description: "x" }],
+    });
+
+    expect(res.status).to.equal(201);
+    expect(res.body.ingredients).to.have.length(2);
+    expect(await prisma.ingredient.count({ where: { isPlaceholder: true } })).to.equal(2);
+  });
+});

apps/web/cypress/e2e/recipe-form.feature

@@ -45,6 +45,21 @@ Feature: Recipe form — associating ingredients
     And I add a step
     Then there should be 2 step editor items
 
+  Scenario: Adds an off-catalog ingredient as a free-text placeholder when nothing in the picker matches
+    Given creating the recipe will succeed and return id 43
+    When I visit "/recettes/nouvelle"
+    And I fill in the "recipe-name" field with "Poulet basquaise"
+    And I search the ingredient picker for "piment d'espelette"
+    Then the picker should offer to add "piment d'espelette" as a placeholder
+    When I add "piment d'espelette" as a placeholder ingredient
+    Then the recipe should include the placeholder ingredient "piment d'espelette"
+    When I fill in the ingredient's quantity with "1" and unit "unité"
+    And I add a step
+    And I fill in the step description with "Tout mélanger."
+    And I click the button "Enregistrer"
+    Then the recipe creation request should have included a placeholder ingredient "piment d'espelette" with quantity 1 and unitId 1
+    And the URL should include "/recettes/43"
+
   Scenario: Excludes an already-selected ingredient from the picker, and removing it brings it back
     When I visit "/recettes/nouvelle"
     And I select the ingredient "Carotte" from the picker

apps/web/cypress/e2e/recipe-form.ts

@@ -70,6 +70,31 @@ Then(
   },
 );
 
+Then("the picker should offer to add {string} as a placeholder", (name: string) => {
+  cy.get(".ingredient-picker__add-placeholder").should("contain.text", name);
+});
+
+When("I add {string} as a placeholder ingredient", () => {
+  // The search field already holds the query from the previous step, so the
+  // "add « … »" button carries the right name.
+  cy.get(".ingredient-picker__add-placeholder").click();
+});
+
+Then("the recipe should include the placeholder ingredient {string}", (name: string) => {
+  cy.contains(".ingredient-row__name", name)
+    .find(".ingredient-row__placeholder-badge")
+    .should("be.visible");
+});
+
+Then(
+  "the recipe creation request should have included a placeholder ingredient {string} with quantity {int} and unitId {int}",
+  (placeholderName: string, quantity: number, unitId: number) => {
+    cy.wait("@createRecipe")
+      .its("request.body.ingredients")
+      .should("deep.equal", [{ placeholderName, quantity, unitId }]);
+  },
+);
+
 Given("recipe 7 exists with an egg omelette", () => {
   const existingRecipe = {
     id: 7,

apps/web/src/features/planning/RecipePickerDialog.tsx

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { Dialog } from "../../components/ui/Dialog";
 import { errorMessageService } from "../../services/error-message.service";
 import { DietTagSelect } from "../recipes/badges/DietTagSelect";
 import { IngredientPicker } from "../recipes/ingredients/IngredientPicker";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "../recipes/ingredients/ingredient-label";
 import { RecipeDetailPanel, type RecipeDetailState } from "../recipes/RecipeDetailPanel";
 import { RecipeTable } from "../recipes/RecipeTable";
 import {
@@ -447,7 +448,7 @@ export function RecipePickerDialog({
             <div className="recipe-picker__chips">
               {selectedIngredients.map((ingredient) => (
                 <span key={ingredient.id} className="filter-chip">
-                  {t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`)}
+                  {ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)}
                   <button
                     type="button"
                     onClick={() =>

apps/web/src/features/profile/DislikedIngredientsField.tsx

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { IngredientPicker } from "../recipes/ingredients/IngredientPicker";
 // picker" visual family, even though this field lives in the profile
 // feature).
 import { IngredientTypeIcon } from "../recipes/ingredients/ingredient-icons";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "../recipes/ingredients/ingredient-label";
 import "../recipes/recipes.scss";
 import "./profile-forms.scss";
 
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ export function DislikedIngredientsField({
               <span aria-hidden="true">
                 <IngredientTypeIcon icon={ingredient.icon} />
               </span>
-              {t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`)}
+              {ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)}
               <button
                 type="button"
                 onClick={() => remove(ingredient.id)}

apps/web/src/features/recipes/RecipeDetailPanel.tsx

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { SourceLinkIcon } from "../../layouts/nav-icons";
 import { errorMessageService } from "../../services/error-message.service";
 import { AllergenBadges } from "./badges/AllergenBadges";
 import { FavoriteStarButton } from "./badges/FavoriteStarButton";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "./ingredients/ingredient-label";
 import { StepDescription } from "./steps/StepDescription";
 import "./recipes.scss";
 
@@ -180,7 +181,7 @@ export function RecipeDetailPanel({
             <ul className="disliked-badges">
               {dislikedIngredients.map((ingredient) => (
                 <li key={ingredient.id} className="disliked-badge">
-                  🚫 {t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`)}
+                  🚫 {ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)}
                 </li>
               ))}
             </ul>

apps/web/src/features/recipes/ingredients/IngredientPicker.tsx

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { AllergenBadges } from "../badges/AllergenBadges";
 import { DietBadges } from "../badges/DietBadges";
 import { ReproducibleBadge } from "../badges/ReproducibleBadge";
 import { CategoryIcon, IngredientTypeIcon, SubcategoryIcon } from "./ingredient-icons";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "./ingredient-label";
 import "../recipes.scss";
 
 /** "No filter at this level" — a UI-only pseudo-value, never sent to/received from the API (see {@link INGREDIENT_CATEGORIES}/{@link INGREDIENT_CATEGORY_SUBCATEGORIES} for the real, closed sets). */
@@ -40,15 +41,25 @@ const ALL = "ALL" as const;
  * just browsing/searching by name. A labeled checkbox menu rather than two
  * bare icon-only toggle buttons — those turned out too ambiguous on their
  * own (unclear what each icon meant without a label attached).
+ *
+ * `onAddPlaceholder`, when passed, turns the "aucun ingrédient trouvé"
+ * empty state into an escape hatch: with a non-empty search query, an
+ * "ajouter « … » comme ingrédient à compléter" button lets the user add a
+ * free-text line so the catalog gap doesn't block them (see
+ * `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in schema.prisma). Omitted on pickers where
+ * that makes no sense — a profile's disliked-ingredients field, a search
+ * filter.
  */
 export function IngredientPicker({
   ingredients,
   excludeIds,
   onSelect,
+  onAddPlaceholder,
 }: {
   ingredients: IngredientView[];
   excludeIds: number[];
   onSelect: (ingredient: IngredientView) => void;
+  onAddPlaceholder?: (name: string) => void;
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const [category, setCategory] = useState<IngredientCategory | typeof ALL>(ALL);
@@ -80,17 +91,26 @@ export function IngredientPicker({
     // key — searching "œuf" should find "Œuf" the way it always has, not
     // require typing its key.
     if (normalizedQuery.length > 0) {
-      const label = t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`).toLowerCase();
+      const label = ingredientLabel(ingredient, t).toLowerCase();
       if (!label.includes(normalizedQuery)) return false;
     }
     return true;
   });
 
+  const trimmedQuery = query.trim();
+
   function handleSelect(ingredient: IngredientView) {
     onSelect(ingredient);
     setQuery("");
   }
 
+  function handleAddPlaceholder() {
+    if (onAddPlaceholder && trimmedQuery.length > 0) {
+      onAddPlaceholder(trimmedQuery);
+      setQuery("");
+    }
+  }
+
   return (
     <div className="ingredient-picker">
       <div className="ingredient-picker__search">
@@ -171,7 +191,18 @@ export function IngredientPicker({
       )}
 
       {visible.length === 0 ? (
-        <p className="ingredient-picker__empty">{t("recipes.form.noIngredientFound")}</p>
+        <div className="ingredient-picker__empty">
+          <p>{t("recipes.form.noIngredientFound")}</p>
+          {onAddPlaceholder && trimmedQuery.length > 0 && (
+            <button
+              type="button"
+              className="ingredient-picker__add-placeholder"
+              onClick={handleAddPlaceholder}
+            >
+              {t("recipes.form.addPlaceholderButton", { name: trimmedQuery })}
+            </button>
+          )}
+        </div>
       ) : (
         <div className="ingredient-picker__grid">
           {visible.map((ingredient) => (
@@ -184,9 +215,7 @@ export function IngredientPicker({
               <span className="ingredient-picker__card-icon" aria-hidden="true">
                 <IngredientTypeIcon icon={ingredient.icon} />
               </span>
-              <span className="ingredient-picker__card-name">
+              <span className="ingredient-picker__card-name">{ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)}</span>
-                {t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`)}
-              </span>
               {showAllergens && <AllergenBadges allergens={ingredient.allergens} />}
               {showDiets && <DietBadges diets={ingredient.diets} />}
               {showReproducible && <ReproducibleBadge reproducible={ingredient.reproducible} />}

apps/web/src/features/recipes/ingredients/IngredientRow.tsx

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { AllergenBadges } from "../badges/AllergenBadges";
 import { DietBadges } from "../badges/DietBadges";
 import { ReproducibleBadge } from "../badges/ReproducibleBadge";
 import { IngredientTypeIcon } from "./ingredient-icons";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "./ingredient-label";
 import "../recipes.scss";
 
 /** One selected ingredient line in the recipe form — the ingredient itself (picked via `IngredientPicker`) plus its quantity/unit for this recipe. Quantity is kept as a raw string while editing (not parsed to a number until submit) so an in-progress/invalid value doesn't fight the input; `unit` picks from `unitsCatalog` (a closed reference list, see `Unit` in schema.prisma) rather than free text. */
@@ -36,13 +37,25 @@ export function IngredientRow({
   // them, or why).
   const unitMissing = unitId === null;
   const needsAttention = unitMissing || duplicate;
+  // A free-text placeholder line (the catalog had nothing matching) — shown
+  // with an "à compléter" badge and none of the allergen/diet/reproducible
+  // badges, which carry no meaning until a maintainer promotes it to a real
+  // catalog entry. Its quantity/unit still work exactly like any other line.
+  const isPlaceholder = ingredient.isPlaceholder;
 
   return (
     <li className={needsAttention ? "ingredient-row ingredient-row--incomplete" : "ingredient-row"}>
       <span className="ingredient-row__icon" aria-hidden="true">
         <IngredientTypeIcon icon={ingredient.icon} />
       </span>
-      <span className="ingredient-row__name">{t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`)}</span>
+      <span className="ingredient-row__name">
+        {ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)}
+        {isPlaceholder && (
+          <span className="ingredient-row__placeholder-badge">
+            {t("recipes.form.placeholderBadge")}
+          </span>
+        )}
+      </span>
       <input
         type="number"
         min="0"
@@ -68,12 +81,16 @@ export function IngredientRow({
           </option>
         ))}
       </select>
+      {!isPlaceholder && (
+        <>
           <AllergenBadges allergens={ingredient.allergens} />
           <DietBadges diets={ingredient.diets} />
           <ReproducibleBadge
             reproducible={ingredient.reproducible}
-        searchLabel={t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`)}
+            searchLabel={ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)}
           />
+        </>
+      )}
       <button
         type="button"
         className="ingredient-row__remove"

apps/web/src/features/recipes/ingredients/ingredient-label.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import type { IngredientView } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+
+/**
+ * The display name for an ingredient line.
+ *
+ * A real catalog ingredient has no name in the database — its French label
+ * lives in i18n under `catalog.ingredients.<key>` — so it's resolved
+ * through `t`. A **placeholder** (`IngredientView.isPlaceholder`, the
+ * free text a user typed when the catalog fell short — see
+ * `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in schema.prisma) has its name stored on the
+ * row as `displayName` and no i18n key at all, so it's shown verbatim.
+ *
+ * Every place that used to inline `t(\`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}\`)`
+ * goes through this instead, so a placeholder never renders as the raw,
+ * missing translation key `catalog.ingredients.placeholder:<uuid>`.
+ *
+ * `t` is passed in (rather than calling `useTranslation` here) so this
+ * stays a plain function usable from non-component code and unit-testable
+ * without mounting i18next — same split as `shopping-list.ts`.
+ */
+export function ingredientLabel(
+  ingredient: Pick<IngredientView, "key" | "displayName">,
+  t: (key: string) => string,
+): string {
+  return ingredient.displayName ?? t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`);
+}

apps/web/src/features/recipes/ingredients/placeholder-ingredient.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import type { IngredientView } from "@batch-cooking/shared";
+
+/**
+ * Sentinel `id` for a placeholder ingredient line the user just added in
+ * the recipe form but that has **no database row yet** — the API creates
+ * the real `Ingredient` row (with a real id) when the recipe is saved (see
+ * `recipe.service.ts`'s `resolveIngredientLines`). Never sent to the API:
+ * the submit payload uses `placeholderName`, not `ingredientId`, for these
+ * lines. Kept out of `excludeIds`/duplicate checks by testing
+ * `isPlaceholder` rather than the id.
+ */
+export const UNSAVED_PLACEHOLDER_ID = 0;
+
+/**
+ * Builds the in-memory {@link IngredientView} for a brand-new placeholder
+ * line (the "add « … » as an ingredient to complete" action in
+ * `IngredientPicker`). Shaped exactly like what the API returns for a
+ * placeholder once persisted — `isPlaceholder: true`, the typed text as
+ * `displayName`, a generic `JAR` icon, default aisle, no allergen/diet
+ * info — so `IngredientRow` renders it through the same path as an
+ * edit-loaded placeholder with no special-casing.
+ */
+export function makePlaceholderIngredientView(name: string): IngredientView {
+  return {
+    id: UNSAVED_PLACEHOLDER_ID,
+    key: "",
+    icon: "JAR",
+    category: "dryGoods",
+    subcategory: "other",
+    reproducible: false,
+    allergens: [],
+    diets: [],
+    isPlaceholder: true,
+    displayName: name,
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether this line is a placeholder the user just added that has **no
+ * database row yet** — the submit payload must describe it with
+ * `placeholderName` (asking the API to create the row) rather than
+ * `ingredientId`. An *edit-loaded* placeholder fails this test: it already
+ * has a real id and round-trips as a normal `{ ingredientId }` line, so
+ * editing a recipe never spawns a duplicate placeholder row.
+ */
+export function isUnsavedPlaceholder(
+  ingredient: Pick<IngredientView, "id" | "isPlaceholder">,
+): boolean {
+  return ingredient.isPlaceholder && ingredient.id === UNSAVED_PLACEHOLDER_ID;
+}

apps/web/src/features/recipes/recipes.scss

@@ -1218,6 +1218,19 @@
     margin-right: auto;
   }
 
+  // Marks a free-text placeholder line (nothing in the catalog matched) —
+  // the ingredient still needs a real catalog entry created by a
+  // maintainer, but the line is usable (quantity/unit) in the meantime.
+  &__placeholder-badge {
+    margin-left: var(--space-xs);
+    padding: 0 var(--space-xs);
+    font-size: var(--font-size-xs);
+    font-weight: 500;
+    border-radius: var(--radius-base);
+    background: var(--color-surface-alt);
+    color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  }
+
   &__quantity {
     width: 5rem;
   }
@@ -1512,11 +1525,37 @@
     font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
   }
 
+  // Now a container (not a bare `<p>`) — the "aucun ingrédient trouvé"
+  // message plus, when the picker allows it, an "ajouter « … » comme
+  // ingrédient à compléter" escape-hatch button stacked under it.
   &__empty {
+    display: flex;
+    flex-direction: column;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: var(--space-sm);
     padding: var(--space-md);
     font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
     color: var(--color-text-muted);
     text-align: center;
+
+    p {
+      margin: 0;
+    }
+  }
+
+  &__add-placeholder {
+    padding: var(--space-xs) var(--space-md);
+    font-size: var(--font-size-sm);
+    cursor: pointer;
+    border: 1px dashed var(--color-border);
+    border-radius: var(--radius-base);
+    background: var(--color-surface);
+    color: var(--color-text);
+
+    &:hover {
+      border-color: var(--color-accent);
+      color: var(--color-accent);
+    }
   }
 }
 

apps/web/src/features/recipes/sources/RecipeImportForm.tsx

@@ -19,13 +19,17 @@ import { errorMessageService } from "../../../services/error-message.service";
 import { DietTagSelect } from "../badges/DietTagSelect";
 import { IngredientPicker } from "../ingredients/IngredientPicker";
 import { IngredientRow } from "../ingredients/IngredientRow";
+import {
+  isUnsavedPlaceholder,
+  makePlaceholderIngredientView,
+} from "../ingredients/placeholder-ingredient";
 import { type StepDraft, StepListEditor } from "../steps/StepListEditor";
 import "../recipes.scss";
 
 /** In display order — mirrors `RecipeVisibility` (schema.prisma/shared types). Same list as `RecipeFormPage`. */
 const VISIBILITY_OPTIONS: RecipeVisibility[] = ["PERSONAL", "HOUSE", "PUBLIC"];
 
-/** A resolved ingredient line — identical shape to `RecipeFormPage`'s own `IngredientLine`. */
+/** A resolved ingredient line — identical shape to `RecipeFormPage`'s own `IngredientLine` (`ingredient` may be a synthetic placeholder view, see there). */
 interface IngredientLine {
   key: string;
   ingredient: IngredientView;
@@ -33,7 +37,7 @@ interface IngredientLine {
   unitId: number | null;
 }
 
-/** One draft line that didn't resolve to a real `Ingredient` on preview (`DraftRecipeIngredientView.ingredient === null`) — still needs a person to pick the right one, or discard it, before this recipe can be saved. */
+/** One draft line that didn't resolve to a real `Ingredient` on preview (`DraftRecipeIngredientView.ingredient === null`) — still needs a person to pick the right one, keep it as a free-text placeholder, or discard it, before this recipe can be saved. */
 interface UnresolvedIngredientLine {
   key: string;
   rawText: string;
@@ -207,6 +211,26 @@ export function RecipeImportForm({
     setResolvingKey(null);
   }
 
+  /** Keeps an unresolved line as a free-text placeholder — the catalog had nothing matching, but the ingredient shouldn't be silently dropped (see `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in schema.prisma). Its unit still needs picking, same as a resolved line. */
+  function keepUnresolvedAsPlaceholder(unresolvedKey: string) {
+    setUnresolvedIngredients((lines) => {
+      const line = lines.find((l) => l.key === unresolvedKey);
+      if (line) {
+        setIngredientLines((resolved) => [
+          ...resolved,
+          {
+            key: makeClientKey(),
+            ingredient: makePlaceholderIngredientView(line.rawText.trim()),
+            quantity: line.quantity,
+            unitId: null,
+          },
+        ]);
+      }
+      return lines.filter((l) => l.key !== unresolvedKey);
+    });
+    setResolvingKey((current) => (current === unresolvedKey ? null : current));
+  }
+
   function discardUnresolvedIngredient(key: string) {
     setUnresolvedIngredients((lines) => lines.filter((line) => line.key !== key));
     setResolvingKey((current) => (current === key ? null : current));
@@ -230,6 +254,10 @@ export function RecipeImportForm({
     const seen = new Set<number>();
     const duplicates = new Set<number>();
     for (const line of ingredientLines) {
+      // Placeholder lines have no catalog id (all share the sentinel 0) and
+      // each becomes its own fresh row server-side — two of them never
+      // collide on `RecipeIngredient`'s `(recipeId, ingredientId)` key.
+      if (line.ingredient.isPlaceholder) continue;
       if (seen.has(line.ingredient.id)) duplicates.add(line.ingredient.id);
       seen.add(line.ingredient.id);
     }
@@ -260,7 +288,12 @@ export function RecipeImportForm({
       visibility,
       dietIds,
       ingredients: ingredientLines.map((line) => ({
-        ingredientId: line.ingredient.id,
+        // Free-text lines (nothing in the catalog matched) submit as
+        // `placeholderName` so the API creates the placeholder row — same
+        // branch as RecipeFormPage's identical submit.
+        ...(isUnsavedPlaceholder(line.ingredient)
+          ? { placeholderName: line.ingredient.displayName ?? "" }
+          : { ingredientId: line.ingredient.id }),
         quantity: Number(line.quantity),
         // `canSubmit` already requires every line to have a unit picked —
         // same "?? 0, the schema rejects it if ever reached" reasoning as
@@ -331,7 +364,9 @@ export function RecipeImportForm({
     );
   }
 
-  const selectedIds = ingredientLines.map((line) => line.ingredient.id);
+  const selectedIds = ingredientLines
+    .filter((line) => !line.ingredient.isPlaceholder)
+    .map((line) => line.ingredient.id);
 
   return (
     <form className="recipe-form" onSubmit={handleSubmit} noValidate>
@@ -421,6 +456,9 @@ export function RecipeImportForm({
                     >
                       {t("recipes.sources.import.resolveButton")}
                     </button>
+                    <button type="button" onClick={() => keepUnresolvedAsPlaceholder(line.key)}>
+                      {t("recipes.sources.import.keepAsPlaceholderButton")}
+                    </button>
                     <button type="button" onClick={() => discardUnresolvedIngredient(line.key)}>
                       {t("recipes.sources.import.discardButton")}
                     </button>

apps/web/src/features/recipes/steps/TechStepCorrectionPopover.tsx

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { ApiError, apiClient } from "../../../api/client";
 import { errorMessageService } from "../../../services/error-message.service";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "../ingredients/ingredient-label";
 import { CatalogSearchPicker } from "./CatalogSearchPicker";
 import type { TextSelectionRange } from "./use-text-selection";
 
@@ -349,7 +350,7 @@ export function TechStepCorrectionPopover({
               <CatalogSearchPicker
                 items={(catalogs?.ingredients ?? []).map((ingredient) => ({
                   id: ingredient.id,
-                  label: t(`catalog.ingredients.${ingredient.key}`),
+                  label: ingredientLabel(ingredient, t),
                 }))}
                 onSelect={setPickedIngredientId}
                 placeholder={t("recipes.form.searchIngredientPlaceholder")}
@@ -447,7 +448,7 @@ export function TechStepCorrectionPopover({
                 const view = ingredientById.get(ingredient.ingredientId);
                 const unit =
                   ingredient.unitId !== null ? unitById.get(ingredient.unitId) : undefined;
-                const label = view ? t(`catalog.ingredients.${view.key}`) : "…";
+                const label = view ? ingredientLabel(view, t) : "…";
                 return (
                   // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noArrayIndexKey: `pendingIngredients` has no other stable identity (an ingredient can appear more than once, each with its own span) — always fully rebuilt on add/remove, never reordered in place.
                   <li key={index} className="tech-step-correction-popover__chip">

apps/web/src/locales/fr/translation.json

@@ -217,8 +217,9 @@
         "planningHint": "Cette recette sera automatiquement ajoutée à votre planning une fois importée.",
         "loadError": "Impossible de charger cette recette pour le moment.",
         "unresolvedTitle": "Ingrédients à compléter",
-        "unresolvedHint": "Ces lignes n'ont pas été reconnues automatiquement — choisissez le bon ingrédient, ou retirez-les.",
+        "unresolvedHint": "Ces lignes n'ont pas été reconnues automatiquement — choisissez le bon ingrédient, gardez le texte tel quel à compléter plus tard, ou retirez-les.",
         "resolveButton": "Choisir un ingrédient",
+        "keepAsPlaceholderButton": "Garder tel quel",
         "discardButton": "Retirer cette ligne",
         "submit": "Importer",
         "submitting": "Import en cours…",
@@ -255,6 +256,8 @@
       "allCategories": "Tout",
       "allSubcategories": "Tout",
       "noIngredientFound": "Aucun ingrédient trouvé.",
+      "addPlaceholderButton": "Ajouter « {{name}} » comme ingrédient à compléter",
+      "placeholderBadge": "à compléter",
       "category": {
         "freshProduce": "Produits frais",
         "meatAndSeafood": "Boucherie & poissonnerie",

apps/web/src/pages/recipes/RecipeFormPage.tsx

@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ import { ApiError, apiClient } from "../../api/client";
 import { DietTagSelect } from "../../features/recipes/badges/DietTagSelect";
 import { IngredientPicker } from "../../features/recipes/ingredients/IngredientPicker";
 import { IngredientRow } from "../../features/recipes/ingredients/IngredientRow";
+import {
+  isUnsavedPlaceholder,
+  makePlaceholderIngredientView,
+} from "../../features/recipes/ingredients/placeholder-ingredient";
 import { type StepDraft, StepListEditor } from "../../features/recipes/steps/StepListEditor";
 import "../../features/recipes/recipes.scss";
 import { makeClientKey } from "../../lib/client-key";
@@ -22,7 +26,19 @@ import { errorMessageService } from "../../services/error-message.service";
 /** In display order — mirrors `RecipeVisibility` (schema.prisma/shared types). */
 const VISIBILITY_OPTIONS: RecipeVisibility[] = ["PERSONAL", "HOUSE", "PUBLIC"];
 
-/** One selected ingredient line — `key` is a client-only stable identity, same reasoning as `StepDraft`. `unitId` is `null` until the user picks one (no default — unlike `portions`, there's no single "usually right" unit across every ingredient); `canSubmit` gates on every line having one set before allowing save. */
+/**
+ * One selected ingredient line — `key` is a client-only stable identity,
+ * same reasoning as `StepDraft`. `unitId` is `null` until the user picks
+ * one (no default — unlike `portions`, there's no single "usually right"
+ * unit across every ingredient); `canSubmit` gates on every line having one
+ * set before allowing save.
+ *
+ * `ingredient` is a real `IngredientView` for a catalog pick or an
+ * edit-loaded placeholder, or a synthetic one (see
+ * `makePlaceholderIngredientView`) for a brand-new free-text placeholder
+ * the user added because the catalog fell short — the latter submits as
+ * `placeholderName`, not `ingredientId` (see {@link isUnsavedPlaceholder}).
+ */
 interface IngredientLine {
   key: string;
   ingredient: IngredientView;
@@ -125,6 +141,19 @@ export function RecipeFormPage() {
     ]);
   }
 
+  /** Adds a free-text placeholder line — the escape hatch when nothing in the catalog matches (see `IngredientPicker`'s `onAddPlaceholder`). */
+  function addPlaceholderIngredient(name: string) {
+    setIngredientLines((lines) => [
+      ...lines,
+      {
+        key: makeClientKey(),
+        ingredient: makePlaceholderIngredientView(name),
+        quantity: "",
+        unitId: null,
+      },
+    ]);
+  }
+
   function updateIngredientLine(
     key: string,
     patch: Partial<Pick<IngredientLine, "quantity" | "unitId">>,
@@ -169,7 +198,13 @@ export function RecipeFormPage() {
       visibility,
       dietIds,
       ingredients: ingredientLines.map((line) => ({
-        ingredientId: line.ingredient.id,
+        // A just-added free-text line has no catalog id yet — ask the API to
+        // create the placeholder row via `placeholderName`. An edit-loaded
+        // placeholder already has a real id and goes through `ingredientId`
+        // like any other line (so re-saving never duplicates it).
+        ...(isUnsavedPlaceholder(line.ingredient)
+          ? { placeholderName: line.ingredient.displayName ?? "" }
+          : { ingredientId: line.ingredient.id }),
         quantity: Number(line.quantity),
         // `canSubmit` already requires every line to have a unit picked
         // before the button is enabled — `?? 0` is just to satisfy the
@@ -221,7 +256,12 @@ export function RecipeFormPage() {
     );
   }
 
-  const selectedIds = ingredientLines.map((line) => line.ingredient.id);
+  // Placeholder lines carry no real catalog id (a brand-new one is id 0, an
+  // edit-loaded one isn't in the browsable catalog anyway), so they never
+  // belong in the picker's "already picked, hide it" set.
+  const selectedIds = ingredientLines
+    .filter((line) => !line.ingredient.isPlaceholder)
+    .map((line) => line.ingredient.id);
 
   return (
     <form className="recipe-form" onSubmit={handleSubmit} noValidate>
@@ -292,6 +332,7 @@ export function RecipeFormPage() {
           ingredients={ingredientsCatalog}
           excludeIds={selectedIds}
           onSelect={addIngredient}
+          onAddPlaceholder={addPlaceholderIngredient}
         />
       </section>
 

apps/web/src/pages/shopping-list/ShoppingListPage.tsx

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   CategoryIcon,
   IngredientTypeIcon,
 } from "../../features/recipes/ingredients/ingredient-icons";
+import { ingredientLabel } from "../../features/recipes/ingredients/ingredient-label";
 import { formatShoppingListQuantity, groupShoppingListItems } from "./shopping-list";
 import "./shopping-list-page.scss";
 
@@ -80,9 +81,7 @@ function ShoppingListItems({ items }: { items: ShoppingListItemView[] }) {
     return <p className="shopping-list-page__status">{t("shoppingList.empty")}</p>;
   }
 
-  const groups = groupShoppingListItems(items, (item) =>
+  const groups = groupShoppingListItems(items, (item) => ingredientLabel(item.ingredient, t));
-    t(`catalog.ingredients.${item.ingredient.key}`),
-  );
 
   return (
     <div className="shopping-list">
@@ -99,7 +98,7 @@ function ShoppingListItems({ items }: { items: ShoppingListItemView[] }) {
                   <IngredientTypeIcon icon={item.ingredient.icon} />
                 </span>
                 <span className="shopping-list__item-name">
-                  {t(`catalog.ingredients.${item.ingredient.key}`)}
+                  {ingredientLabel(item.ingredient, t)}
                 </span>
                 <span className="shopping-list__item-quantity">
                   {formatShoppingListQuantity(item.quantity)} {t(`catalog.units.${item.unit.key}`)}

packages/shared/src/schemas/admin.ts

@@ -104,3 +104,27 @@ export const trainingDataSnippetQuerySchema = z.object({
 });
 /** Inferred TS type for {@link trainingDataSnippetQuerySchema}. */
 export type TrainingDataSnippetQuery = z.infer<typeof trainingDataSnippetQuerySchema>;
+
+/**
+ * Query params for `GET /admin/catalog/placeholders` — the off-catalog
+ * ingredient review. `reviewed` is tri-state: omitted / `"false"` hides
+ * groups every row of which has already been triaged (the default working
+ * view), `"true"` shows only fully-triaged groups.
+ */
+export const listPlaceholdersQuerySchema = z.object({
+  reviewed: z.enum(["true", "false"]).optional(),
+});
+/** Inferred TS type for {@link listPlaceholdersQuerySchema}. */
+export type ListPlaceholdersQuery = z.infer<typeof listPlaceholdersQuerySchema>;
+
+/**
+ * Body of `PATCH /admin/catalog/placeholders/mark-reviewed` — stamps
+ * `reviewedAt` on the given placeholder `Ingredient` ids (a maintainer has
+ * seen this catalog gap and, if warranted, added the real entry by hand).
+ * Bounded so one call can't sweep an unbounded set.
+ */
+export const markPlaceholdersReviewedSchema = z.object({
+  ingredientIds: z.array(z.number().int().positive()).min(1).max(500),
+});
+/** Inferred TS type for {@link markPlaceholdersReviewedSchema}. */
+export type MarkPlaceholdersReviewedInput = z.infer<typeof markPlaceholdersReviewedSchema>;

packages/shared/src/schemas/recipe.ts

@@ -4,17 +4,33 @@ import { z } from "zod";
 
 /**
  * One ingredient line accepted by `POST /recipes`/`PATCH /recipes/:id`.
- * `ingredientId` must reference an existing reference `Ingredient` (see
+ *
- * `GET /reference/ingredients`) — there is no way to create one from here,
+ * A line carries **exactly one** of:
- * ingredients are static reference data. An unknown id is rejected
+ * - `ingredientId` — references an existing reference `Ingredient` (see
- * service-side with `INGREDIENT_NOT_FOUND`, not here — this schema only
+ *   `GET /reference/ingredients`). An unknown id is rejected service-side
- * checks shape.
+ *   with `INGREDIENT_NOT_FOUND`, not here — this schema only checks shape.
+ *   (A placeholder that already exists, e.g. on a recipe being edited,
+ *   round-trips through this branch by its real id.)
+ * - `placeholderName` — free text the user typed because nothing in the
+ *   catalog matched. The API creates a dedicated placeholder `Ingredient`
+ *   row for this line (see `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in schema.prisma and
+ *   `recipe.service.ts`'s `createRecipeInternal`); it is never browsable.
+ *
+ * Requiring exactly one keeps `RecipeIngredient` unchanged (still a real
+ * `ingredientId` after the service resolves the line).
  */
-const recipeIngredientInputSchema = z.object({
+const recipeIngredientInputSchema = z
-  ingredientId: z.number().int().positive(),
+  .object({
+    ingredientId: z.number().int().positive().optional(),
+    /** Free-text ingredient name for a line the catalog couldn't cover — see this schema's doc comment. Mutually exclusive with `ingredientId`. */
+    placeholderName: z.string().trim().min(1).max(120).optional(),
     quantity: z.number().positive("La quantité doit être positive"),
     /** References a reference `Unit` row (see `GET /reference/units`) — free-text units were replaced by this closed catalog, see `Unit` in schema.prisma. An unknown id is rejected service-side with `UNIT_NOT_FOUND`, same posture as `ingredientId`. */
     unitId: z.number().int().positive(),
+  })
+  .refine((line) => (line.ingredientId === undefined) !== (line.placeholderName === undefined), {
+    message: "Chaque ingrédient doit avoir soit un identifiant catalogue, soit un nom libre",
+    path: ["ingredientId"],
   });
 
 /**
@@ -63,9 +79,16 @@ export const createRecipeSchema = z
   // silently summed, since two lines resolving to the same ingredient
   // aren't necessarily interchangeable quantities (different units,
   // different confidence in the match).
+  //
+  // Placeholder lines (`placeholderName`, no `ingredientId` yet) are
+  // skipped here: each one becomes its own fresh `Ingredient` row
+  // service-side, so two placeholder lines with the same text never
+  // collide on the `(recipeId, ingredientId)` key.
   .refine(
     (input) => {
-      const ingredientIds = input.ingredients.map((ingredient) => ingredient.ingredientId);
+      const ingredientIds = input.ingredients
+        .map((ingredient) => ingredient.ingredientId)
+        .filter((id): id is number => id !== undefined);
       return new Set(ingredientIds).size === ingredientIds.length;
     },
     {

packages/shared/src/types/admin.ts

@@ -196,3 +196,35 @@ export interface RetrainResultView {
   backfilled: { total: number; changed: number } | null;
   marked: { applied: number; rejected: number };
 }
+
+/**
+ * One row of `GET /admin/catalog/placeholders` — every placeholder
+ * `Ingredient` (see `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in schema.prisma) sharing
+ * one normalized name, so a maintainer sees "this ingredient is missing
+ * from the catalog, and N recipes are waiting on it" rather than a flat
+ * list of near-duplicate one-off rows.
+ *
+ * `normalizedName` is the grouping key (lower-cased, accent-stripped,
+ * whitespace-collapsed — see `apps/api`'s `admin-catalog.service.ts`).
+ * `displayNames` is every distinct raw spelling that collapsed into it
+ * ("Piment d'Espelette", "piment d espelette"). `ingredientIds` is every
+ * placeholder row in the group — the payload `mark-reviewed` takes back.
+ */
+export interface CatalogPlaceholderGroupView {
+  normalizedName: string;
+  displayNames: string[];
+  ingredientIds: number[];
+  /** Distinct recipes that use at least one placeholder in this group. */
+  recipeCount: number;
+  /** Up to 5 of those recipes, for a "seen in…" preview. */
+  sampleRecipes: { id: number; name: string }[];
+  /** Earliest `createdAt` across the group's rows (ISO 8601), or `null` if none carry one. */
+  firstSeenAt: string | null;
+  /** `true` once every row in the group has been marked reviewed — the group then leaves the default working list. */
+  allReviewed: boolean;
+}
+
+/** Result of `POST /admin/catalog/placeholders/prune-orphans` — how many placeholder rows with zero remaining recipe references were deleted. */
+export interface PruneOrphansResultView {
+  deleted: number;
+}

packages/shared/src/types/reference.ts

@@ -275,7 +275,10 @@ export interface SourceView {
  *
  * `key` is a stable English camelCase uid (e.g. `"tomato"`), not a display
  * label — like {@link DietView.key}, resolved via
- * `t(\`catalog.ingredients.${key}\`)`.
+ * `t(\`catalog.ingredients.${key}\`)` — **except** for a placeholder (see
+ * `isPlaceholder`), whose label is `displayName` verbatim. Consumers must
+ * therefore resolve the label as `displayName ?? t(\`catalog.ingredients.${key}\`)`
+ * (helper: `apps/web`'s `features/recipes/ingredients/ingredient-label.ts`).
  */
 export interface IngredientView {
   id: number;
@@ -287,4 +290,15 @@ export interface IngredientView {
   reproducible: boolean;
   allergens: AllergyView[];
   diets: DietView[];
+  /**
+   * `true` = a free-text ingredient a user typed on a recipe line because
+   * the catalog had nothing matching — see `Ingredient.isPlaceholder` in
+   * schema.prisma. Never returned by `GET /reference/ingredients` (the
+   * browsable catalog excludes them); only ever seen inside a recipe's own
+   * ingredient list. Rendered with an "à compléter" badge and no
+   * allergen/diet info.
+   */
+  isPlaceholder: boolean;
+  /** The user-typed name when `isPlaceholder` — `null` for a real catalog ingredient (its label is in i18n). */
+  displayName: string | null;
 }

specs/backend-architecture.md

@@ -427,6 +427,26 @@ heartbeat en échec ne casse jamais un run. Seuils d'âge : > 8 j ⇒ `degraded`
   **Ne peut ni éditer `training_data.py` ni redémarrer l'intent-service** —
   ces deux étapes restent manuelles, l'UI l'affiche en bandeau permanent.
 
+**Ingrédients hors-catalogue** (`admin-catalog.service.ts`, routes
+`/admin/catalog/*`, `requireAdmin`) — revue des lignes `Ingredient`
+`isPlaceholder` (voir la section *Recettes* et `batch-cooking-modele.md`) :
+
+- `GET /placeholders?reviewed=` — tous les placeholders, **regroupés par nom
+  normalisé** (`normalizePlaceholderName` : minuscules + sans accents +
+  ponctuation → espace + espaces compressés), un groupe = un manque du
+  catalogue (`recipeCount`, recettes-échantillon, orthographes vues,
+  `firstSeenAt`). Défaut / `reviewed=false` : les groupes encore à traiter ;
+  `reviewed=true` : l'archive des groupes entièrement traités.
+- `PATCH /placeholders/mark-reviewed` (`{ ingredientIds }`) — pose `reviewedAt`
+  (le groupe sort de la liste de travail). N'ajoute **rien** au catalogue.
+- `POST /placeholders/prune-orphans` — supprime les placeholders qu'aucune
+  recette ne référence plus (débris d'une édition de recette). Aussi
+  disponible en script : `scripts/prune-orphan-placeholders.ts`.
+
+La promotion d'un placeholder en vraie entrée catalogue (édition de
+`reference-seed-data.ts` + locales) reste **100 % manuelle** — pas de fusion
+ni de génération de snippet depuis l'UI.
+
 ---
 
 ## `reference` — catalogues publics (pas de session requise)
@@ -593,6 +613,19 @@ foyer du viewer est masquée. Sans foyer, rien n'est activé par construction
 (pas de ligne `HouseSource` à référencer) — toute recette sourcée est
 invisible tant que le profil n'a pas rejoint/créé de foyer.
 
+**Ingrédients hors-catalogue** — chaque ligne d'ingrédient de `POST`/`PATCH
+/recipes` porte **soit** `ingredientId` (catalogue, ou un placeholder
+existant qui fait l'aller-retour par son id réel), **soit** `placeholderName`
+(texte libre). Pour une ligne `placeholderName`, `createRecipeInternal` /
+`updateRecipe` créent, dans le `$transaction` de la recette, une ligne
+`Ingredient` `isPlaceholder=true` (`resolveIngredientLines`), puis émettent
+`analytics.recordEvent("ingredient.placeholder_created")`. Ces lignes sont
+exclues de `GET /reference/ingredients` et de `loadIngredientCatalog`
+(`ingredient-matcher.ts`). Retirer une ligne placeholder d'une recette
+laisse une ligne `Ingredient` orpheline (non-GC — purge manuelle via
+`/admin/catalog/placeholders/prune-orphans`). Revue côté admin :
+`/admin/catalog/*` (section *admin* ci-dessus).
+
 ### Détection des techniques — `tech-step-matcher.ts`
 
 Historiquement une table `TechStepMapping` de regex par technique/locale

specs/batch-cooking-modele.md

@@ -313,15 +313,17 @@ calculés depuis les ingrédients).
 ### `ingredients` (`Ingredient`) et catalogue associé
 
 Table de référence (seedée, jamais créée/éditée/supprimée via l'API), comme
-`Diet`/`Allergy`.
+`Diet`/`Allergy` — **sauf** les lignes *placeholder* (voir `isPlaceholder`
+ci-dessous), seules lignes de cette table jamais issues du seed.
 
 | Champ | Description |
 |---|---|
 | `id` | Identifiant |
-| `key` | Slug unique — libellé dans `catalog.ingredients.<key>` (locale) |
+| `key` | Slug unique — libellé dans `catalog.ingredients.<key>` (locale) ; pour un placeholder, `placeholder:<uuid>` (jamais de libellé i18n) |
 | `icon` | `IngredientIcon` — ~20 pictogrammes génériques par *type* de chose (légume, bouteille d'huile, fromage…), pas un emoji par ingrédient (437 rejetés comme peu pro) — voir `apps/web/src/features/recipes/ingredients/ingredient-icons.tsx` |
 | `category` / `subcategory` | `IngredientCategory` (7 rayons) / `IngredientSubcategory` (racks plus fins) — organisation "rayon de supermarché français" pour permettre le parcours par catégorie dans le picker (400+ ingrédients, la recherche seule ne suffit pas) |
 | `reproducible` | Vrai si raisonnablement faisable maison (un pain burger, une béchamel) plutôt qu'un achat systématique — juste un flag, pas un lien vers une recette précise (un ancien `alternateRecipeId` jamais câblé a été retiré) |
+| `isPlaceholder` / `displayName` / `createdById` / `createdAt` / `reviewedAt` | **Ingrédient hors-catalogue** : quand le catalogue ne couvre pas un ingrédient, l'utilisateur peut saisir un texte libre sur une ligne de recette (`placeholderName` dans le payload `POST/PATCH /recipes`) — l'API crée alors une ligne `Ingredient` `isPlaceholder=true`, `displayName` = le texte, `createdById`/`createdAt` renseignés. `RecipeIngredient` la référence comme n'importe quel ingrédient, mais `GET /reference/ingredients` et `ingredient-matcher.ts` l'excluent (jamais parcourable/matchable). `reviewedAt` est posé quand un admin a traité le manque via `/admin/catalog/*`. La promotion en vraie entrée catalogue (édition de `reference-seed-data.ts` + locales) reste **manuelle**. |
 
 `IngredientDiet` (m2m, régimes compatibles — omet volontairement `Omnivore`
 et `Sans gluten`, ce dernier dérivable de `IngredientAllergy`) et

specs/frontend-architecture.md

@@ -626,10 +626,25 @@ Clic sur une ligne :
   pas). Un menu "options d'affichage" bascule les badges
   allergène/régime/reproductible par carte (préférence UI locale, pas
   persistée). Réutilisé par `RecipeFormPage`, `RecipeImportForm`, le filtre
-  ingrédients de `RecipePickerDialog`, et `DislikedIngredientsField`.
+  ingrédients de `RecipePickerDialog`, et `DislikedIngredientsField`. Prop
+  optionnel `onAddPlaceholder` : quand la recherche ne renvoie rien, un
+  bouton "Ajouter « … » comme ingrédient à compléter" ajoute une ligne
+  **hors-catalogue** (texte libre, voir `placeholder-ingredient.ts` +
+  `backend-architecture.md`) plutôt que de bloquer l'utilisateur — présent
+  seulement pour `RecipeFormPage`/`RecipeImportForm`.
 - `IngredientRow.tsx` / `StepListEditor.tsx` — ligne d'ingrédient sélectionnée
   (icône, nom, quantité, unité, badges, retrait) et éditeur d'étapes ordonné
-  (boutons monter/descendre, pas de drag-and-drop) du formulaire recette.
+  (boutons monter/descendre, pas de drag-and-drop) du formulaire recette. Une
+  ligne placeholder affiche un badge "à compléter" et aucun badge
+  allergène/régime.
+- `ingredient-label.ts` — `ingredientLabel(ingredient, t)` =
+  `displayName ?? t(\`catalog.ingredients.${key}\`)`. **Tout** rendu du libellé
+  d'un ingrédient passe par là (picker, ligne, liste de courses, filtre du
+  picker de planning, fiche recette, popover de correction) pour qu'un
+  placeholder (clé `placeholder:<uuid>`, sans libellé i18n) affiche son
+  `displayName` et pas la clé brute. `placeholder-ingredient.ts` fabrique la
+  `IngredientView` synthétique d'une ligne placeholder pas encore
+  enregistrée (`id` 0, soumise en `placeholderName`).
 - `SourceItemTable.tsx` — tableau de parcours d'une source (photo+nom, badge
   "déjà importé" au lieu des colonnes allergènes/régime — un item de source
   n'est résolu contre les catalogues qu'à la prévisualisation).