Name: Spiced Chicken with Spinach
Ingredients: -judi m. phelps; 3 lbs chicken, cut into 8 pieces; -skinned, and trimmed of; -excess fat; all purpose flour, for; -dusting the chicken; 1 1/2 tbsp to 2 tabl. canola oil; 2 small yellow onions, finely diced; 2 ripe medium tomatoes or; 8 oz can whole plum tomatoes; -preferably low sodium; -drained and chopped; 2 small bunches fresh spinach, about; -1 lb, thoroughly washed; -stemmed, drained, and; -coarsely chopped; 3 med cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp ground coriander; coarsely ground black pepper; -to taste; 3 whole cloves; 1/4 tsp ground turmeric; 1/4 tsp good-quality curry powder; salt to taste, optional; 1/4 cup skim milk

Why it works: Tomato and plum are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,480 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. 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.

Tomato + plumtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,480 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Tomato + spinachtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,350 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Plum + clovetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together446 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Onion + spinachtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,336 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Chicken: Provides the main protein; browning first builds colour and savoury flavour before the slow bake.
All purpose flour: Dusting helps the chicken brown and gives a light coating that adds color and body to the sauce.
Yellow onions: Softening them builds a sweet, savoury base for the vegetable mixture.
Tomatoes: Add acidity and liquid that moisten the chicken and form the sauce as they cook down.
Spinach: Wilts into the sauce, adding body and a mild earthy flavour.
Skim milk: Adds creaminess and softens the sharp edges of the tomatoes.

The step that matters

Cover tightly and bake until the chicken is tender. A tight cover traps steam so the chicken cooks gently in the moist vegetable sauce; lifting the lid or under-baking leaves the meat tough and the sauce thin.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, flour, canola oil, onion, tomato, plum, spinach):

Garlicfits better
Cuminfits better
Thymefits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, flour, canola oil, onion, tomato, plum, spinach. 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Coriander	not in our table	0

Spiced Chicken with Spinach