Name: Roasted Beef, Arugula and Tangerine Salad
Ingredients: 1 top round roast, about 4 lb., fat trimmed to 1/4 inch, meat patted dry; Olive oil for brushing; Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste; 2 oz. fatback or salt pork, thinly sliced (optional); 1 large red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces; 1/4 cup white wine vinegar; 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard; 2 tsp. coarsely cracked peppercorns; 1 tsp. kosher salt; 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 5 tangerines, peel and pith removed with a sharp knife, fruit cut into segments between the membranes and diced; 1 lb. baby arugula

Why it works: Onion and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,950 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + mustardtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,430 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 onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, olive, pepper, pork, white wine, vinegar, mustard):

Capsicumfits better
Shallotfits better
Lettucefits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, olive, pepper, pork, white wine, vinegar, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Arugula	1 cup (20g)	5
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Meat	not in our table	0
Tangerine	not in our table	0
Fruit	not in our table	0

Roasted Beef, Arugula and Tangerine Salad