Name: Tortellini and Escarole Soup
Ingredients: 2 tsp. olive oil; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 6 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced; 7 cups vegetable broth; 5 cups chopped escarole; 9-oz. pkg. mushroom tortellini or tortelloni, cooked; Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Why it works: Onion and shiitake match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 412 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Tortellini and Escarole Soup

Timeabout 3 minutes

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
7 cups vegetable broth
5 cups chopped escarole
9-oz. pkg. mushroom tortellini or tortelloni, cooked
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Make the soup

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.
Add the broth and bring to a simmer.
Add the escarole and cook 2 minutes.
Add the cooked tortellini and heat through.

Serve

Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

322Calories

16 gProtein

22 gFat

20 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Shiitake	1/2 cup (73g)	34
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Onion + shiitaketop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together412 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Shiitake + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together552 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Mushroom + parmesan cheesetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,199 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Olive + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,571 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Olive + shiitaketop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together334 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Onion: Softens into the soup base, adding sweetness and savory depth as it cooks.
Shiitake mushrooms: Release savory, earthy flavor into the broth as they soften.
Escarole: Wilts quickly in the hot broth, adding a slightly bitter green note and body.
Mushroom tortellini or tortelloni: Pasta filling that becomes tender in the broth, making the soup substantial.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, shiitake, mushroom, parmesan cheese):

Spinachfits better
Tomatofits better
Asparagusfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, shiitake, mushroom, parmesan cheese. 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.