Name: Rice Casserole with Pine Nuts
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch squares; 1 large carrot, quartered lengthwise and chopped; 3 small ribs of celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 bay leaves; 1/4 tsp. thyme; 1 tsp. dill weed; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley; 1 tsp. brown sugar; 1 1/2 tsp. paprika; 1 tsp. salt; 1 cup long-grain brown rice; 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes; 1 cup water; 1/4 cup currants or raisins; 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds; 1 Tbs. olive oil

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. 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.

Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Carrot + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together321 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together164 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,108 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Brown rice: Provides the bulk of the casserole and, as it cooks, its starch sets the dish's body.
Diced tomatoes: Supply liquid and acidity that help cook the rice and add a bright, savory base.
Onion: Softens and sweetens as it cooks, building the flavor base of the dish.
Pine nuts or slivered almonds: Add toasted, buttery crunch and fat that contrasts with the soft rice.
Currants or raisins: Add pockets of sweetness that balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

The step that matters

Cover and bake until the rice is tender. Rice absorbs the liquid slowly inside a covered dish; lifting the lid or stopping early leaves it firm and dry, so the cover must stay on until the grains soften.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, carrot, celery, clove, garlic, thyme, dill):

Parsnipfits better
Turnipfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, carrot, celery, clove, garlic, thyme, dill. 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
Pine	1 oz (28g)	191
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Walnut	1 walnut half (4g)	26
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

Rice Casserole with Pine Nuts