Name: Tofu and Vegetables
Ingredients: 1 tsp Light olive oil; 1 med Onion; 3 x Peeled garlic cloves; 3 tbl Low sodium tomato paste; 1 cup De-alcoholized red wine; 2 cup Yellow Finn potatoes; Carrots, peeled; 14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes in juice; 1 lb 1% tofu; 12 x Kalamata olives; 2 tsp Capers; 1 cup Low sodium vegetable stock; 2 x Bay leaves; 1/4 tsp Ground red pepper; 1/4 tsp Ground allspice; 1/4 tsp Salt; 2 cup Thickly sliced mushrooms; 1 cup Frozen petit peas; 1 tsp Arrowroot mixed with; 2 tsp De-alcoholized red wine

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).
Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Onion + potatotop 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

What each ingredient does

Tofu: Provides protein and a soft, absorbent body that takes on the stew's flavours.
Potatoes: Starch that softens during simmering and thickens the broth slightly.
Tomato paste: Concentrates tomato flavour and adds savoury depth when fried briefly.
Arrowroot: Starch that thickens the stew when heated with the liquid.
Red wine: Deglazes the pan, lifting browned bits and adding acidity and aroma.
Mushrooms: Add savoury, earthy flavour and a tender texture during the final cook.

The step that matters

Stir in the peas and arrowroot slurry and heat until thickened. Arrowroot thickens only when heated, and it can break down and thin if boiled too long or stirred too hard, so heat just until the stew turns glossy and thick.

Swap the clove

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

Thymefits better
Cuminfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, garlic, tomato, red wine, potato, carrot. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Capers	1 tbsp (9g) drained	2
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Arrowroot	not in our table	0

Tofu and Vegetables