Why it works: Butternut squash and potato work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 166 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 6Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and place a rack in the upper third.
Cut the peeled, seeded butternut squash into 1-inch cubes. Cut the rinsed red potatoes into 1-inch pieces and cut the onion into wedges.
In a small bowl, stir the minced rosemary, sage and thyme into the extra virgin olive oil.
Put the squash, potatoes and onion in a large bowl, pour over the herb oil and toss until everything is evenly coated.
Spread the vegetables in a single layer on one or two large rimmed baking sheets so they do not crowd each other.
Roast for about 25 minutes, turning the pieces once halfway through, until tender and golden brown at the edges.
Serve the vegetables hot, straight from the pan.
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.
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Butternut squash + potatotop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together166 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Rosemary + sagetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together465 recipes
Shared aroma: 1,8-cineol (eucalyptus, camphor).
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Rosemary + thymetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,340 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sage + thymetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,485 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Potato + oniontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,019 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
Flavor stand-ins for the sage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butternut squash, potato, onion, rosemary, thyme, olive):
- Garlicabout as good a flavor fit
- Sagethe original
- Marjoramabout as good a flavor fit
- Oreganoabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against butternut squash, potato, onion, rosemary, thyme, olive. 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).
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