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Tandoori-Style Octopus with Fennel Slaw

This recipe is the creation of chef Roger Mooking. To defrost octopus, unwrap and place in a bowl, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Rinse under cold running water and drain. Try simmering octopus in liquids other than water, such as wine or olive oil, to impart additional flavors.

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Why it works: Cumin and fennel match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 276 recipes mention both. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By williamssonoma. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Cumin + fenneltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together276 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  2. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together29,030 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Ginger + coriandertop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,504 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Coriander + fenneltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together426 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sherry, vinegar, garlic, yogurt, ginger, coriander, cumin):

  1. Tomatobetter flavor fit
  2. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  3. Carrotabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sherry, vinegar, garlic, yogurt, ginger, coriander, cumin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).