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Moussaka with Lamb

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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 ↓

Moussaka with Lamb

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Peel potatoes or eggplant and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Deep fry in fat until golden brown, drain. Arrange half of this in an even layer in 13 x 9 baking dish. Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Set aside. In remaining oil cook beef, stirring until done. Add onion, garlic, tomato sauce, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Pour over layer in baking dish. Arrange remaining slices over meat. Beat eggs and milk, pour over meat layers. Sprinkle with cheese, bake in moderate 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cut into squares to serve. Kefaloteri cheese: A creamy color hard cheese, very much like Parmesan, which can be used as a substitute..

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1003Calories
56 gProtein
52 gFat
82 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot 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.

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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

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

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion, olive, beef, garlic, tomato, sauce):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion, olive, beef, garlic, tomato, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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