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Sauce

Central African Tomato Sauce

A tomato-based sauce with onions, tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, spices, simmered and served with grilled or roasted meats or boiled tubers.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,015 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Central African Tomato Sauce

Timeten minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan.

  2. Fry onions for a few minutes.

  3. Stir in all other ingredients.

  4. Add water as necessary to make a smooth sauce.

  5. Season to taste.

  6. Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat, simmer for ten minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve with grilled or roasted chicken, fish, or meat, or boiled Cassava (manioc) tubers, Plantains or Yams.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

213Calories
3 gProtein
15 gFat
19 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)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.

  1. Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

  2. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

  4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

  5. Tomato + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together879 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

Onions
Soften and sweeten as they fry, forming the flavour base of the sauce.
Tomato paste
Concentrates tomato flavour and thickens the sauce, adding body and colour.
Tomatoes
Add moisture and fresh acidity, loosening the paste into a sauce.
Palm oil
Carries flavour in the frying step and adds richness to the sauce.

The step that matters

Add water as necessary to make a smooth sauce. Tomato paste can clump or scorch if it is not thinned gradually. Adding water in small amounts while stirring keeps the sauce smooth and lets you control its thickness before simmering.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, tomato, pepper):

  1. Garlicfits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, tomato, 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.

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