Name: African Beef and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients: 1½ pounds beef boneless chuck, tip or round, cut into ¾-inch cubes; 2 cups water; 2 teaspoons salt; ¼ teaspoon ground ginger; 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper; 1½ pounds Hubbard squash, pared and cut into 1-inch cubes (optional); 2 medium tomatoes, chopped; 1 package (10 ounces) frozen baby lima beans

Why it works: Pepper and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

African Beef and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1½ pounds beef boneless chuck, tip or round, cut into ¾-inch cubes
2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1½ pounds Hubbard squash, pared and cut into 1-inch cubes (optional)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 package (10 ounces) frozen baby lima beans

Directions

Cook the beef

Heat beef, water, salt, ginger and red pepper to boiling in Dutch oven, then reduce heat.
Cover and simmer 1½ hours.

Add the squash

Add squash.
Cover and cook until beef and squash are tender, 30 to 45 minutes longer.
Remove squash and mash or purée in blender, then return squash to Dutch oven.

Finish and serve

Add tomatoes and beans.
Heat to boiling, then reduce heat.
Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 15 minutes.
Top each serving with hot cooked rice if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

390Calories

35 gProtein

16 gFat

26 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Lima Bean	1/2 cup (85g) cooked	108
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0

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.

Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,448 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + lima beanstop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together131 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,800 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef: Long gentle simmering breaks down connective tissue in the chuck, making the meat tender and enriching the broth.
Hubbard squash: Mashed into the broth, it thickens the soup and adds body and mild sweetness.
Tomatoes: Add acidity, moisture and fresh flavour to the broth.
Baby lima beans: Their starch adds body and a creamy texture to the soup.
Ground ginger: Adds warm aromatic flavour to the broth.

The step that matters

Simmering the beef gently for 1½ hours. Low, slow simmering breaks down the tough connective tissue in beef chuck, so the meat becomes tender. A hard boil toughens the muscle fibres and can leave the beef chewy, so the pot should stay at a gentle simmer.