Name: Argentine-Style Beef with Chimichurri Sauce
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup olive oil; 1/2 cup red wine vinegar; 1/2 cup minced onion; 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper; 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley; 4 fresh bay leaves, minced (optional); 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tablespoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper; 1 1/2 cups chopped onion; 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano; 1 tablespoon ground cumin; 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; 3 pounds beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. 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 + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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 (olive, red wine, vinegar, pepper, parsley, garlic, clove):

Shallotfits better
Tomatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, red wine, vinegar, pepper, parsley, garlic, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1

Argentine-Style Beef with Chimichurri Sauce