Name: Tunisian Aromatic Fish Soup with Potatoes
Ingredients: 4 cup Water; 1 lb Potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into1/2-inch-thick slices; 2 med Tomatoes, peeled, quartered; 3 x Garlic cloves, chopped; 2 tbl Chopped fresh mint; 1 1/2 tbl Fresh lemon juice; 1 tsp Paprika; 1/2 tsp Ground cumin; 1/4 tsp Dried crushed red pepper; 1/3 cup Plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro or parsley; 1 lb Firm white fish fillets, (such as cod, haddock or sea bass) (1-inch-thick); 3 tbl Olive oil

Why it works: Garlic and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,082 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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 + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Tomato + cumintop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,272 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Clove + cumintop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,306 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

Potatoes: Hold their shape while adding body and starch that thickens the broth slightly.
Tomatoes: Add acidity and moisture, building the body of the broth.
Fish fillets: Provide the main protein, flaking into tender pieces as the soup simmers.
Olive oil: Adds fat and richness, carrying the spice flavors through the broth.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the broth and balances the spices.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows and sweetens as it simmers.

The step that matters

Simmering the fish. Fish cooks quickly and turns dry or tough if boiled hard. Keep the soup at a gentle simmer once the fish goes in, so it cooks through while staying moist and flaky.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, tomato, garlic, clove, lemon, cumin, pepper):

Oreganofits better
Corianderfits better
Thymefits better
Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, tomato, garlic, clove, lemon, cumin, pepper. 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
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Haddock	100g cooked	112
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Water	not in our table	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

Tunisian Aromatic Fish Soup with Potatoes