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Country Captain Shepherd's Pie

This fragrant take on a shepherd's pie uses lamb shoulder or leg, slow-cooked, as a beautiful alternative to mince.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 24 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Country Captain Shepherd's Pie

Serves 4
Prep30 min

Ingredients

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

637Calories
36 gProtein
45 gFat
26 gCarbs

Counts 15 of 18 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 15 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Lamb100g cooked294
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Cardamom1 tsp ground (2g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Coriandernot in our table0
Seednot in our table0
Sunflower Oilnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

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

  2. Cinnamon + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,299 recipes

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

  3. Coriander + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together872 recipes

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

  4. Ginger + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,114 recipes

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

  5. Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cumin, coriander, ginger, sunflower, lamb, cinnamon, cardamom):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Saffronfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cumin, coriander, ginger, sunflower, lamb, cinnamon, cardamom. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.