Name: Autumn Grain and Vegetable Casserole
Ingredients: 4 – 5 cups cooked grain; 2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 2 small onions (or substitute with leeks or scallions); 6 cups trimmed and chopped vegetables such as: red or green peppers, mushrooms, zucchini; 2 cups chopped tomatoes; ½ teaspoon sea salt; freshly ground black pepper; ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese; 2 eggs, beaten; minced fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, oregano

Why it works: Garlic and onion 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 ↓

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.

Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Grain: Forms the bulk and body of the casserole, giving it a hearty, sliceable structure.
Eggs: Bind the mixture and set during baking, holding the casserole together.
Parmesan cheese: Adds savoury, salty flavour and helps brown the top while baking.
Tomatoes: Add moisture and acidity; cooking off excess liquid concentrates their flavour.
Onions: Provide sweetness and aroma as they soften in the oil.

The step that matters

Cook away excess liquid from the tomatoes and vegetables. Vegetables release water as they cook. If it is not reduced before mixing with eggs, the casserole will be wet and may not set firmly in the oven.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, garlic, onion, pepper, tomato, parmesan cheese, egg):

Basilfits better
Thymefits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, garlic, onion, pepper, tomato, parmesan cheese, egg. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Autumn Grain and Vegetable Casserole