Why it works: Butternut squash and kale share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 31 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: tree nuts (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.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butternut squash cubes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
Pour in the vegetable broth, cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes, until the squash is just tender when pierced with a fork.
Stir in the chili powder and season with salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 1 minute so the liquid reduces slightly.
Strip the kale leaves from the tough stems and chop them roughly. Add the kale to the skillet a handful at a time and stir for about 3 minutes until wilted.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking often, until golden. Watch closely so they do not burn.
Divide the squash and kale mixture among four bowls and sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the top. Serve warm.
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 + kaletop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together31 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Olive + pinetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,027 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Kale + pinetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together30 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Butternut squash + pinetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together38 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Pepper + pinetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together687 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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