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Hobgoblin Stew

A stew of beef, potatoes, carrots, peas, and spices simmered with evaporated milk.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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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 ↓

Hobgoblin Stew

Time1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beef

  1. On plate, combine flour, salt and pepper; set aside.

  2. Cut meat into bite-size cubes, then roll in flour mixture to coat.

  3. Reserve flour mixture.

Make the stew

  1. Heat vegetable oil in saucepan set on stove top over medium-low heat.

  2. Add meat and brown, stirring occasionally with mixing spoon, then sprinkle in remaining flour mixture.

  3. Add onion; cook until limp.

  4. Add water, garlic powder, thyme and coriander; bring to boil.

  5. Cover and cook over low heat 1 hour.

  6. After 1 hour, add potatoes, carrots and additional water as needed.

  7. Cover and cook 10 minutes.

  8. Add peas and continue to cook about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

  9. Stir in evaporated milk.

  10. Heat through, but do not boil.

Serve

  1. To serve, pour into hollowed-out pumpkin shell decorated to look like a spooky jack-o'-lantern.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1279Calories
58 gProtein
39 gFat
174 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 14 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot 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.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Garlic + coriandertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,474 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,585 recipes

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

  4. Garlic + thymetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,608 recipes

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

  5. Thyme + coriandertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together427 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Beef stew meat
Provides the main protein; browning builds savory flavor on the meat surface.
Flour
Coats the beef and thickens the stew liquid as it cooks.
Potatoes
Add starch that softens during cooking and body to the stew.
Carrots
Add sweetness and firm texture that holds up during long simmering.
Evaporated milk
Adds creaminess and richness to the finished stew liquid.

The step that matters

Heat through, but do not boil.. Evaporated milk is prone to curdling or separating when boiled, so it should be warmed gently at the end to keep the stew smooth.

Swap the coriander

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pepper, beef, meat, onion, garlic, thyme):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Parsleyfits better
  3. Winter savoryfits better
  4. Corianderthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pepper, beef, meat, onion, garlic, thyme. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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