Name: Lasagna Alla Bolognese
Ingredients: 2 Tbs. unsalted butter; 2 small carrots, chopped; 1 celery stalk, chopped; 1 yellow onion, chopped; 2 oz. thick-cut pancetta, chopped; 1/2 lb. ground pork; 1/2 lb. ground beef chuck; 1/2 cup dry red wine such as Barbera; 1 cup drained, chopped canned plum tomatoes; 1 to 2 Tbs. tomato paste; 2 cups beef broth, plus more as needed; 1 cup milk; 1 tsp. sea salt; 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper; 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg; 3 cups milk; 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter; 6 Tbs. all-purpose flour; 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 18 oz. fresh spinach pasta dough (see related recipe at left); 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. 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.

Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Pork + beeftop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,690 recipes

Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
Red wine + plumtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together107 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the plum

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, carrot, celery, onion, pork, beef, red wine):

Plumthe original
Avocadofits about as well
Applefits about as well
Grapefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, carrot, celery, onion, pork, beef, red wine. 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
Pork	100g cooked	242
Pasta	1 cup cooked (140g)	220
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Lasagna Alla Bolognese