Name: Butternut Stew with Tofu, Corn and Pine Nuts
Ingredients: 4 cups frozen Silver Queen or other sweet corn kernels, thawed; 4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. white pepper; 4 cups water; 2 Tbs. chicken-flavored broth powder; 4 Tbs. olive oil; 1 lb. firm tofu, diced; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup pine nuts; 2 scallions, minced, for garnish

Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. 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.

Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Butternut squash + garlictop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together476 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butternut squash + clovetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together115 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Butternut squash + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together689 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

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

What each ingredient does

Sweet corn kernels: Blended into a coarse purée, it thickens the stew and adds body and natural sweetness.
Butternut squash: Softens as it cooks, adding body, mild sweetness and a smooth texture to the stew.
Firm tofu: Browned in flour, it develops a crisp exterior and holds its shape in the stew.
All-purpose flour: Coats the tofu so it browns more readily and gains a light crust.
Pine nuts: Toasting in oil adds nutty aroma and a contrasting richness to the stew.
Olive oil: Conducts heat for browning the tofu and carries flavour from the pine nuts.

The step that matters

Browning the tofu in the floured skillet. Tofu must brown on all sides in hot oil before it goes into the stew. Pale, under-browned pieces stay soft and bland, and crowding the pan lowers the heat and causes steaming instead of browning.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, butternut squash, clove, garlic, chicken, olive, tofu):

Cuminfits better
Turmericfits better
Gingerfits better
White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against corn, butternut squash, clove, garlic, chicken, olive, tofu. 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
Pine Nut	1 oz (28g)	191
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Butternut Squash	1 cup cubed (140g) butternut	76
Tofu	100g firm	76
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Butternut Stew with Tofu, Corn and Pine Nuts