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Grilled Steak and Fresh Mozzarella Flatbread

"Grilled beef top sirloin slices are served over Indian naan flatbreads with fresh spinach, mozzarella cheese, and basil in an open-faced sandwich that's perfect for a summer lunch or light supper."

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,820 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

The recipe

4 servings
Prep10 min
Cook15 min

Ingredients

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

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Preheat the grill to medium-high, about 450°F (232°C). Sprinkle the lemon pepper evenly over all sides of the tied steak, pressing it on lightly.

  2. Grill the steak 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning once, until the thickest part reads at least 145°F (63°C) on an instant-read thermometer.

  3. Move the steak to a cutting board and rest it for 3 minutes. Snip off the twine, then slice the steak thinly against the grain.

  4. Place the naan or pita breads directly on the grill and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly charred and warmed through.

  5. Top each flatbread with spinach, mozzarella pieces and chopped basil. Close the lid and grill 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese softens and melts.

  6. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the sliced steak, arrange it on the flatbreads and serve right away.

By allrecipes. 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. Lemon + basiltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,820 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Lemon + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together27,039 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Pepper + basiltop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together5,292 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Mozzarella cheese + basiltop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together1,010 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

  5. Pepper + spinachtop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together3,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the spinach

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, lemon, pepper, mozzarella cheese, basil, vinegar, naan):

  1. Tomatobetter flavor fit
  2. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  3. Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Spinachthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, lemon, pepper, mozzarella cheese, basil, vinegar, naan. 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).