Name: Poblano Albóndigas with Ancho Chile Soup
Yield: Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
Ingredients: 2 large fresh poblano chiles* (9 to 10 ounces total); 1 pound ground beef (15% fat); 1/2 cup coarsely grated zucchini; 1/4 cup finely grated onion; 1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)**; 1 large egg, beaten to blend; 2 garlic cloves, pressed; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled; 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 small onion, coarsely grated; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 3 tablespoons pure ancho chile powder or pasilla chile powder*** (do not use blended chile powder); 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 9 cups low-salt beef broth; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican); 1 cup coarsely grated zucchini; 1/4 cup long-grain white rice; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1 tablespoon (or more) fresh lime juice; 3 tablespoons (or more) vegetable oil; 4 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips; Chopped fresh cilantro

Why it works: Cumin and oregano 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.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, egg, garlic, cumin, oregano, olive):

Thymefits better
Turmericfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, egg, garlic, cumin, oregano, olive. 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Corn Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Poblano Albóndigas with Ancho Chile Soup