Name: Vegetable Tamale Pie
Ingredients: vegetable filling; 14 oz beans, cooked pinto, drained; 1 cup onion, white, chopped; 1/2 cup pepper, green bell, cubed; 2 pepper, jalapeno, seeded and; -chopped; 2 cup tomatoes, chopped canned; -drained; 1/2 cup pepper, red bell, cubed; 6 oz cheese, sharp cheddar; -grated; 8 olives, ripe, sliced; 3/4 tsp garlic; 3/4 tsp cumin, ground; 3/4 tsp chile powder; tamale topping; 1/2 cup flour, all purpose; 1 tbsp flour, all purpose, (add to; -above); 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 3 3/4 oz cornmeal, yellow; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/8 tsp salt; 1 large egg, @ room temp; 1/2 cup yogurt, plain; 2 tsp margarine, melted & cooled; 1 tbsp chives, cut to garnish, opt.

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).
Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Beans + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,713 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Binds the topping and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
Cornmeal: Gives the topping its coarse, tender texture typical of tamale-style crusts.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter, helping the topping rise and become light.
Baking soda: Reacts with acidic yogurt to produce gas, aiding rise and gentle browning.
Yogurt: Adds moisture and mild tang to the topping, keeping it tender.
Cheddar cheese: Melts into the filling, adding richness, fat, and savory flavor.

The step that matters

Stirring the topping just until moistened. Overmixing the batter develops gluten in the flour, which makes the topping tough and dense instead of tender.

Swap the jalapeno

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

Cuminfits better
Thymefits better
Oreganofits better
Jalapenothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, onion, pepper, tomato, cheese, olive, garlic. 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
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Chive	1 tbsp (3g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Tamale	not in our table	0
Topping	not in our table	0

Vegetable Tamale Pie