Name: Beetroot and Fennel Soup
Ingredients: 50 g (2 oz) batter; 250 g (8 oz) fennel, thinly sliced; 425 g (15 oz) can chicken consomme; 350 g (12 oz) cooked beetroot, chopped salt and pepper to taste; 2 tablespoons chopped dill; 4 tablespoons thick soar cream; TO GARNISH; dill sprigs; shredded cooked beetroot

Why it works: Fennel and dill match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Beetroot and Fennel Soup

Ingredients

50 g (2 oz) batter
250 g (8 oz) fennel, thinly sliced
425 g (15 oz) can chicken consomme
350 g (12 oz) cooked beetroot, chopped salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped dill
4 tablespoons thick soar cream
TO GARNISH
dill sprigs
shredded cooked beetroot

Directions

Melt the butter in a pan. Add the fennel and cook gently until softened.
Add the chicken consomme and red wine. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the beetroot and cook for 10 minutes.
Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Season and stir in the dill.
If serving chilled, allow the soup to cool, then chill for several hours. If serving hot, reheat gently.
Add a spoonful of sour cream to each serving and garnish with dill and beetroot.
Category:Egyptian Recipes
Category:Egyptian Soups

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

253Calories

33 gProtein

9 gFat

9 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Fennel	1/2 bulb (87g)	27
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Beetroot	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).

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.

Fennel + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Beetroot + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together145 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Fennel + beetroottop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together79 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Pepper + dilltop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,630 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Fennel + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

Swap the beetroot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fennel, chicken, pepper, dill, cream):

Potatofits better
Carrotfits better
Capsicumfits better
Beetrootthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fennel, chicken, pepper, dill, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.