Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,023 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Sopa De Feijao Verde
Ingredients
Directions
Make the classic soup
In a 3-quart saucepan, bring 1 ½ quarts water to a boil.
Add 2 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 3 large potatoes cut in chunks, 2 medium tomatoes cut in chunks, and 2 large onions cut in chunks.
Simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
Puree through a sieve or food mill to make a thin puree.
Add 1 lb. fresh string beans cut across in thin slices.
Simmer for about 10 minutes until beans are tender.
Correct the seasoning.
Serve in bowls.
Fast modern version
(Fast modern version) Combine 1 cup instant potatoes, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, 1 ½ quarts boiling water, and 1 6‑oz. can tomato sauce. No pureeing is necessary.
Cut 1 package frozen Italian beans (thawed) in thin slices. Add to the mixture above. Simmer until beans are done.
Serve in bowls or large soup plates.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,798 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together8,305 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
- Potatoes
- Starch that softens and thickens the soup body when cooked and pureed.
- Tomatoes
- Add moisture, acidity and color to the soup base.
- Onions
- Add aromatic sweetness that builds flavor as they simmer.
- Instant potatoes
- Pre-cooked starch that thickens the liquid quickly without pureeing.
- Tomato sauce
- Adds body, acidity and concentrated tomato flavor to the soup.
- String beans (in the method)
- Add tender vegetable texture and fresh green flavor to the soup.
The step that matters
Simmer until the vegetables are fully tender before pureeing. Potato starch must soften completely during simmering. Fully cooked vegetables break down easily, so the sieve or food mill makes a smooth puree instead of grainy lumps.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, potato, tomato, sauce):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Okraabout as good a flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, potato, tomato, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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