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Zucchini and Potato Dish

A layered baked dish of sliced zucchini and potatoes with sour cream, dill, butter, and lard.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and dill work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 423 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Zucchini and Potato Dish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Clean the zucchini, cut into pencil-thick slices, salt and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Wipe with a cloth, dredge with flour and fry in lard.

  2. Peel the potatoes, slice thinly and fry in lard.

Layer and bake

  1. In a pot, place a layer of potatoes, one of zucchini, and then sprinkle with dill.

  2. Then another layer of potatoes, one of zucchini, and again another potato layer.

  3. Pour the sour cream and salt.

  4. Bake and when the dish is almost done, add a tablespoon of butter, spreading it onto the whole surface.

Serve

  1. Serve hot with a little chopped dill on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

937Calories
35 gProtein
26 gFat
139 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
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. Potato + dilltop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together423 recipes

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

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Flour + dilltop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together639 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Zucchini (in the method)
Forms the main vegetable layers and adds moisture and mild sweetness as it cooks.
Potatoes
Form the starchy layers that soften and hold the gratin together.
Sour cream
Adds richness and moisture that coats the layers and turns creamy as it bakes.
Flour
Light dusting on the zucchini helps it brown in the fat and gives a slightly thickened coating.
Lard
Fat used for frying that adds flavour and helps the vegetables brown.
Butter
Melts over the top near the end, adding richness and gloss to the surface.

The step that matters

Salting and drying the zucchini. Salt draws water out of the zucchini. Wiping it dry before dredging and frying helps it brown rather than steam, and keeps the gratin from becoming watery.

Swap the dill

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, butter, cream, flour):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Dillthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, butter, cream, flour. 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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