Name: Chicken Cacciatore with Rice
Ingredients: 2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying chicken, cut up; 3 tablespoons flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil; 1/4 cup chopped onion; 1 small clove garlic; 1 14-1/2- to 16-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes, chopped; 1 small bay leaf; 2 whole cloves; 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; 1 small green pepper, cut into thin strips; 1/3 cup dry white wine; 3 cups hot cooked rice

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).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Frying chicken: Browning in oil builds flavor on the surface, and simmering keeps the meat moist and tender.
Flour: Coats the chicken so it browns well and slightly thickens the pan juices.
Canned tomatoes: Provide the acidic, liquid base that becomes the sauce as it simmers.
Dry white wine: Adds acidity and aroma that deepen the flavor of the sauce.
Onion: Softens and sweetens as it browns, adding savory depth to the sauce.

The step that matters

Browning the chicken. Searing over medium-high heat until browned on all sides creates flavorful browned compounds on the surface. Turning often prevents scorching and uneven color.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, flour, pepper, olive, onion, garlic, tomato):

Cuminfits better
Thymefits better
Basilfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, flour, pepper, olive, onion, garlic, tomato. 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Chicken Cacciatore with Rice