Name: Grilled Avocado and Steak Arepas with Avocado Cream
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Red chili peppers, finely chopped; 2 Garlic cloves, peeled; 2 tsp Ground cumin; 1 tsp Dried oregano leaves; 1 tsp Salt; ¼ Cup Lime juice; ¼ Cup Orange juice; 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil; 2 Pounds Flank or skirt steak; ¾ Cup Yellow cornmeal or arepa flour; 1/3 Cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded; 3 Tbsp Melted butter, divided; ½ tsp Salt; ½ Boiling water (3/4 cup if needed); 2/3 Cups Fresh corn kernels; 1 Pound California Avocado, sliced 3/8-inch thick; 1 Red bell pepper, halved and seeded; 1 Yellow bell pepper, halved and seeded; 8 oz California Avocados; ½ Cup Sour cream; 1 Tbsp Lime juice; Red chili peppers or bell peppers, finely chopped - as needed for garnish; Corn husks -- as needed for garnish; Lime wedges - as needed for garnish

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cumin + limetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Oregano + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together291 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

Flank or skirt steak: Provides the main protein, and the lime and orange juice marinade helps tenderize its surface.
Yellow cornmeal or arepa flour: Forms the thick batter that cooks into the arepa's sturdy, starchy structure.
Monterey jack cheese: Melts into the batter, adding richness and savory flavor.
California avocado: Adds creamy fat and smoothness, and grilling browns its surface.
Sour cream: Adds fat and mild tang to the blended avocado cream.
Lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the avocado cream and the marinade.

The step that matters

Cook steak 5 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness. Flank and skirt steaks are lean, so they become firm and tough when overcooked. Checking doneness on a medium-hot grill keeps the meat juicy and tender.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, garlic, clove, cumin, oregano, lime, flour):

Avocadofits better
Lemonfits better
Mangofits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, garlic, clove, cumin, oregano, lime, flour. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Arepa	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Grilled Avocado and Steak Arepas with Avocado Cream