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Corn, Bean, and Pumpkin Stew

A stew of pinto beans, corn, pumpkin or winter squash, tomatoes, and onion, seasoned with cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and cloves.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 38 ingredients
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Why it works: Corn and pumpkin work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 286 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

The recipe

Time1.5 hrs

Ingredients

Contains: wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Also mentioned in the method: tortillas

Directions

Prepare the beans and spices

  1. Cook the beans in water and ½ t salt for about 1.5 hrs or until beans are tender.

  2. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.

  3. Warm a small heavy skillet and toast the cumin seeds until their fragrance emerges.

  4. Add the oregano, stir for 5 seconds, and quickly transfer the spices to a plate or bowl so they don't burn.

  5. Combine them with the cinnamon and the cloves, and grind to a powder in an electric spice mill.

Make the base

  1. Heat a wide skillet with water or some sauteing liquid.

  2. Saute the onion briskly over high heat for 1 minute; then lower the heat to medium.

  3. Add the garlic, the spices, the paprika, and 1 t salt, and stir well to combine.

  4. Add ½ c reserved bean broth or stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft.

  5. Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes.

  6. Add the pumpkin or winter squash along with another c of bean broth or stock.

Simmer and serve

  1. After 20 to 30 minutes, or when the pumpkin is about half-cooked, add the corn, the beans, and the fresh chilies.

  2. Thin with the reserved tomato juice, adding more broth or stock as necessary.

  3. Cook until the pumpkin is tender.

  4. Check the seasoning, and add more salt if necessary.

  5. Serve garnished with the chopped cilantro or parsley.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Corn + pumpkintop 8% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together286 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together14,027 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  4. Beans + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,711 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Cumin + cinnamontop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,103 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

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

What each ingredient does

Pinto beans
Provide the main body and protein, becoming creamy as they cook in the stew.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture, helping form a saucy base for the stew.
Pumpkin or winter squash
Adds bulk and sweetness, softening into the stew as it cooks.
Corn
Adds sweetness and a fresh texture that holds its bite in the stew.
Onion
Builds the savoury base, turning soft and sweet as it cooks.

The step that matters

Saute the onion briskly over high heat, then lower the heat. A short hot sear builds flavour and browning, while lowering the heat prevents the onion and spices from scorching before the liquid is added.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, tomato, corn, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, clove):

  1. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  2. Carrotbetter flavor fit
  3. Eggplantbetter flavor fit
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, tomato, corn, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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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