Why it works: Spinach and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,350 recipes mention both. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the crust
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Coat a 9‑inch pie plate with cooking spray.
Shape the dough into a 4‑inch circle; cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 5 minutes.
Roll the dough into an 11‑inch circle on a lightly floured surface.
Fit the dough into the pie plate and flute the rim.
Make the filling
Mix the spinach, sour cream, and shallots in a mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, salt, pepper, egg whites, and egg.
Stir 1/3 cup of the milk mixture into the spinach mixture.
Spoon the spinach mixture into the bottom of the prepared crust.
Add a layer of sliced tomatoes, then top with cheese.
Pour the remaining milk mixture over the cheese.
Bake and serve
Place the pie plate on a baking sheet.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until set.
Let the pie stand for 10 minutes before serving.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Spinach + tomatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,350 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Pepper + tomatotop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together17,913 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Spinach + peppertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,400 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
-
Milk + cheesetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,424 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Spinach + shallottop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together196 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Frozen chopped spinach
- Provides the main filling body and flavor; it must be well drained to avoid a watery pie.
- Egg whites and egg
- Set the custard so the filling firms into a sliceable pie.
- Evaporated skim milk
- Forms the creamy custard base that binds the filling as it bakes.
- Sour cream
- Adds tang and richness, keeping the spinach filling moist and creamy.
- Monterey jack cheese
- Melts into the filling, adding richness and savory flavor.
The step that matters
Drain and squeeze the spinach dry. Excess water from thawed spinach dilutes the custard and keeps it from setting firmly, leaving a soggy, loose pie.
Flavor stand-ins for the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (spinach, cream, milk, pepper, egg, tomato, cheese):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Asparagusbetter flavor fit
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against spinach, cream, milk, pepper, egg, tomato, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.