Why it works: Broccoli and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,072 recipes mention both. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Also mentioned in the method: pasta
Directions
Prepare the filling
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat.
Add the sausage and cook for several minutes, stirring to crumble until the sausage is no longer pink.
Add the mushrooms, broccoli or spinach, and garlic. Cover and cook for a few minutes more, until the vegetables are tender.
Drain off any excess liquid.
Assemble the pie
Place the sausage and vegetables in a large bowl and toss in the spaghetti.
Next toss in the mozzarella and egg substitute.
Respray the skillet with cooking spray and spread the pasta mixture evenly in the dish.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top and spray the top lightly with the cooking spray.
Bake and serve
Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the center of the pie is set but still moist.
Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Broccoli + garlictop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,072 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Provolone cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together89 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Mushroom + parmesan cheesetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,199 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
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Garlic + olivetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Parmesan cheese + olivetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,076 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg substitute sets the pie so it holds together when cut into wedges.
- Mozzarella or provolone cheese
- Melts and binds the pasta and filling while adding richness and stretch.
- Spaghetti
- Forms the body of the pie, giving it structure once the egg sets around it.
- Turkey italian sausage
- Supplies the main savory flavor and meaty texture of the filling.
- Mushrooms
- Release moisture as they cook, adding earthy flavor and softness to the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until the center is just set but still moist. Egg substitute proteins set as they heat. Overbaking squeezes out moisture and makes the pie dry and rubbery, while underbaking leaves it too loose to slice into wedges.
“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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