Name: Cuban-style Picadillo
Ingredients: from the sneaky kitchen:; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 lb lean ground beef; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 1 stalk celery, chopped; 1 small carrot, finely shredded (optional); 3 med garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp dried oregano; 1/2 tsp ground bay leaf; 2 pkts goya seasoning with saffron, or bijol or other red-yellow spanish seasoning; 1/2 tsp accent; black pepper to taste; 1/2 cup raisins; 2/3 cup broken salad olives, drained; 1/2 cup dry white cooking wine; 8 oz tomato sauce; 3 tbsp tomato paste

Why it works: Celery and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. 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.

Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean ground beef: Provides the main body and savory meaty texture of the picadillo.
Onion: Softens and browns, adding sweetness and depth to the base.
Tomato sauce: Adds moisture and body so the mixture becomes a thick, spoonable sauce.
Tomato paste: Concentrates tomato flavor and thickens the sauce with little added liquid.
Raisins: Add sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomato and the salty olives.
Salad olives: Contribute briny, salty flavor that contrasts with the sweet raisins.

The step that matters

Cooking the sauce low and covered while checking it. At medium-low heat the liquid reduces slowly, so the sauce thickens without scorching. Sugars in the raisins, onion and tomato can burn quickly if the heat is too high or the pan is left unattended.

Swap the carrot

The recipe marks carrot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, beef, onion, pepper, celery, garlic, clove):

Tomatofits about as well
Carrotthe original
Chivefits about as well
Capsicumfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, beef, onion, pepper, celery, garlic, clove. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Saffron	not in our table	0
Salad	not in our table	0

Cuban-style Picadillo