Name: Stuffed Eggplant Provençale
Ingredients: 3 medium eggplants; 1 cup chopped onion; 1 cup chopped celery; 1 cup chopped green bell pepper; 2 tablespoons butter or margarine; 2 cups cooked rice; 2 cups diced cooked chicken; 1 14-1/2 to 16-ounce can tomatoes (2 cups); 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teasoon ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon sweet basil; 1 teaspoon thyme leaves; 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese; 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, divided

Why it works: Eggplant and tomato work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 651 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. 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.

Eggplant + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together651 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Rice + tomatotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,065 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggplant: Forms the edible shell and, once parboiled and drained, adds body without excess water.
Cooked rice: Adds bulk and soaks up juices from the tomatoes and chicken, keeping the filling moist.
Cooked chicken: Provides the protein and substance of the filling.
Tomatoes: Add moisture and acidity that season the filling and keep it from drying out.
Eggs: Bind the filling so it holds its shape when sliced and served.
Cheddar cheese: Melts and browns on top, adding richness and a golden finish.

The step that matters

Parboil, then drain the eggplant cubes. Eggplant holds a lot of water. If the cubes are not drained well, the extra liquid thins the filling and makes the stuffed shells soggy after baking.

Swap the eggplant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, celery, pepper, butter, rice, chicken, tomato):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Carrotfits better
Eggplantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, celery, pepper, butter, rice, chicken, 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cottage Cheese	1/2 cup (113g) 2%	98
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Green Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Sweet Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Stuffed Eggplant Provençale