Name: Mediterranean-style Tomato Soup
Ingredients: 3 cups textured soy protein (10 oz.); 1 cup chopped onion; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 quart vegetable or chicken broth*; 2 quart water; 2 cups brown rice, uncooked; 2 tsp oregano leaves, dried, crumbled; 1 tsp thyme leaves, dried, crumbled; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp ground pepper; 2 quart diced tomatoes, canned; 2 cups zucchini, diced (3/4-inch); 1 cup celery, sliced; 1/2 cup parsley, chopped, optional

Why it works: Oregano and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 791 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Oregano + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together791 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,108 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,585 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

Brown rice: Absorbs liquid and softens as it cooks, thickening the soup and adding body.
Textured soy protein: Rehydrates in the simmering broth, providing a chewy, meaty texture.
Diced tomatoes: Provide acidity and body, forming the flavour base of the soup.
Onion: Softens and turns sweet when sautéed, building the soup's aromatic base.
Vegetable or chicken broth: Supplies the main cooking liquid that carries flavour through the soup.

The step that matters

Simmer the rice until tender before adding the tomatoes. Brown rice needs a long, gentle simmer to soften fully. Adding acidic tomatoes too early can slow the softening of grains, so the rice may stay firm.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, chicken, rice, oregano, thyme, pepper):

Cuminfits better
Marjoramfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, chicken, rice, oregano, thyme, pepper. 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Mediterranean-style Tomato Soup