Name: Spinach with Dill
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped.; 1 Tablespoon(s) vegetable oil.; 2 garlic cloves, chopped.; 2 Tablespoon(s) chopped fresh dill.; 15 ounce can tomato sauce.; 10 ounces frozen, thawed spinach; 1/2 cup(s) water.

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Spinach with Dill

Time15 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped.
1 Tablespoon(s) vegetable oil.
2 garlic cloves, chopped.
2 Tablespoon(s) chopped fresh dill.
15 ounce can tomato sauce.
10 ounces frozen, thawed spinach
1/2 cup(s) water.

Directions

Saute onions in oil.
Add garlic and dill to saucepan and continue to saute for two minutes.
Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.
Add spinach and water, then bring to a boil again.
Cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Serve warm over cooked rice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

200Calories

4 gProtein

14 gFat

18 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Water	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).

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + spinachtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,435 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Dill + spinachtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together115 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Tomato + spinachtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,350 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

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

What each ingredient does

Onion: Softens and sweetens as it sautés, building the base flavor of the sauce.
Garlic: Adds aroma that deepens and mellows as it cooks briefly in the oil.
Tomato sauce: Provides the liquid and acidity that forms the body of the dish.
Spinach: Supplies the main vegetable, softening and absorbing flavor as it simmers in the sauce.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, dill, tomato, sauce, spinach):

Cuminfits better
Capersfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, dill, tomato, sauce, spinach. 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.