Why it works: Beans and green beans share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 36 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Vegetable Hotch-Potch
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Brown the chopped onions in oil and some water.
Place the browned onions in a baking dish.
Layer and cook
Add the finely cut peppers, tomatoes, French beans, aubergines, paprika, salt and some water.
When tender, add the potatoes cut into circles and some more warm water.
Bake in moderate oven.
Serve
Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley before serving.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Okra | 1 cup (100g) | 33 |
| Bell Pepper | 1 medium (119g) | 31 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| French Bean | not in our table | 0 |
| Sunflower Oil | 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.
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.
-
Beans + green beanstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together36 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Okra + beanstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together66 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
-
Tomato + beanstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,713 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Okra + parsleytop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together206 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Onions
- Browned first to build a sweet, savoury base for the dish.
- Tomatoes
- Add moisture and acidity that help form the cooking liquid.
- Aubergines
- Soften during baking and add a creamy, tender texture.
- Potatoes
- Absorb cooking liquid and add starch that thickens the dish as it bakes.
- Sunflower oil
- Carries heat for browning the onions and adds richness.
The step that matters
Brown the onions in oil and water. Browning drives Maillard reactions that add deep, sweet flavour. Adding some water keeps the onions from scorching before they colour evenly.
Swap the green beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, tomato, pepper, potato, okra, beans, parsley):
- Chivefits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Green beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against onion, tomato, pepper, potato, okra, beans, parsley. 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.
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