Name: Beef Stroganoff with Peppered Spaetzle
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 10 shallots, sliced crosswise into approximately 1/4-inch-thick rings; 1 cup sugar; 1/2 cup sherry vinegar; 4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper; 2 large eggs; 1 cup sour cream; 1/2 cup crème fraîche; 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 cups (about 12 ounces) black trumpet, portobello, or cremini mushrooms, thoroughly cleaned and roughly chopped; 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1 shallot, finely chopped; 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped; 6 tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus more to taste; 1/2 cup beef stock; 3/4 cup grapeseed oil; 2 tablespoons truffle oil (optional); 4 (1-inch thick) beef tenderloin steaks (about 2 pounds total); 3 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1/2 cup fresh dill, minced; Blender; spaetzle maker, food mill, or colander (If using a colander to make the spaetzle, you'll need twoone to make the spaetzle and one to drain it.)

Why it works: Shallot and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,081 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. 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.

Shallot + flourtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,081 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,898 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sherry + vinegartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together660 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Shallot + vinegartop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,374 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, sherry, vinegar, flour, pepper, egg):

Capsicumfits about as well
Shallotthe original
Mustardfits about as well
Chivefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, sherry, vinegar, flour, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Grapeseed Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Truffle	not in our table	0

Beef Stroganoff with Peppered Spaetzle