Name: Potato and Manchego Cheese Tart
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 6 Yukon Gold potatoes; 1 tbsp chopped parsley or oregano; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; ½ cup freshly grated manchego cheese; salt to taste; freshly ground black pepper

Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Potato and Manchego Cheese Tart

Oven400°F

Timeabout 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof non‑stick skillet over medium heat.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into very thin slices.

Assemble and bake

Layer half of the potato slices in overlapping layers to cover the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle the oregano or parsley, garlic, Manchego cheese, salt, and pepper over the layer (do not sprinkle cheese on the side of the pan).
Add the remaining potato slices in overlapping layers and sprinkle salt and pepper over the added layer.
Cover the skillet with foil and place it in the oven.
Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven and remove the foil.

Unmold and serve

Carefully loosen the edges of the potatoes.
Turn the tart onto a plate or platter.
Cut the tart into wedges and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

409Calories

12 gProtein

23 gFat

41 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Manchego	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.

Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Potato + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,517 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Potato + parsleytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,855 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Yukon gold potatoes: Form the bulk of the tart, becoming tender and holding its layered shape.
Manchego cheese: Melts and browns against the pan, adding savory richness and a crisp, salty edge.
Olive oil: Coats the pan and helps the potatoes brown and crisp on the bottom.
Garlic: Adds aroma and savory flavor that spreads through the layers as it cooks.

The step that matters

Carefully loosen the edges of the potatoes. Cheese that touches the hot pan bonds to the metal as it browns. Loosening the edges before turning the tart frees the crisp layer so the potatoes come out whole instead of tearing.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, potato, parsley, garlic, manchego, cheese, pepper):

Thymefits better
Rosemaryfits better
Basilfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, potato, parsley, garlic, manchego, cheese, pepper. 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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Potato and Manchego Cheese Tart