Name: Chanfana Ou Lampantana
Ingredients: 2,5 - 3 kg goat, cut into large pieces; 120 g bacon, diced; 125 ml olive oil; 25 ml lard; 2 onions, sliced; 5 ml paprika; 2 ml ground cloves; 2 ml ground nutmeg; 1 bay leaf; 1 sprig parsley; 3 cloves garlic; salt and pepper; Piri-Piri (optional); 3 - 4 litres red wine

Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,062 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Goat: Long slow cooking breaks down connective tissue, turning the tough meat tender and succulent.
Red wine: Acts as the braising liquid, adding moisture and flavour while tenderising the meat.
Bacon: Renders fat into the pot, adding savoury richness and flavour to the braising liquid.
Olive oil: Carries fat-soluble spice flavours and helps the meat brown and build flavour.
Onions: Break down during cooking, adding sweetness and body to the sauce.
Garlic: Contributes aromatic pungency that mellows and sweetens during long cooking.

The step that matters

Covering the wine and the low second bake. The meat must stay fully submerged in wine, and the oven must drop to a gentle 100 °C after the first hour. Too much heat or exposed meat dries and toughens the goat, while steady low heat over a long time gently breaks down connective tissue into tender meat.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, clove, nutmeg, parsley, garlic, pepper, red wine):

Shallotfits better
Eggplantfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, clove, nutmeg, parsley, garlic, pepper, red wine. 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Chanfana Ou Lampantana