Name: Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 tablespoons light or extra-virgin olive oil; 1 cup chopped onion; 1 medium green bell pepper, diced; One 28-ounce can crushed or puréed tomatoes; 2 teaspoons chili powder; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; One 16- to 20-ounce can black beans or 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans (from about 1 cup dried); 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced; 1 small fresh hot chile pepper, seeded and minced, or one 4-ounce can chopped mild green chilies; 12 6-inch corn tortillas, torn or cut into several pieces; 8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese or Cheddar-style nondairy cheese

Why it works: Oregano and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Oregano + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cumin + beanstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,188 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Tomato + beanstop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,767 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, pepper, tomato, oregano, cumin, beans, corn):

Capsicumfits better
Eggplantfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, pepper, tomato, oregano, cumin, beans, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Corn Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5

Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles