Name: Mexican Sopa De Fideos
Ingredients: 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil; 2 oz (55 g) spaghetti, vermicelli, or other thin noodle, broken into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces; 1 x 15-oz (225 g) can tomatoes with their liquid; 1 onion, chopped; 2 – 4 cloves garlic, chopped; 6 cups (1.5 l) beef or chicken stock; salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; ¼ cup (60 ml) dry sherry (optional); freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

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 ↓

Mexican Sopa De Fideos

Time5 to 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
2 oz (55 g) spaghetti, vermicelli, or other thin noodle, broken into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
1 x 15-oz (225 g) can tomatoes with their liquid
1 onion, chopped
2 – 4 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups (1.5 l) beef or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ cup (60 ml) dry sherry (optional)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

Make the base

Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat and sauté the broken noodles until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in an electric blender or food processor and purée until smooth.
Pour the tomato mixture into the pot with the noodles and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Simmer and season

Add the stock and simmer, covered, until the noodles are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and stir in the sherry if desired.

Serve

Serve with grated Parmesan on the side.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

745Calories

70 gProtein

40 gFat

19 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 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.

Onion + garlictop 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).
Tomato + garlictop 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

Spaghetti or vermicelli: Thin noodles that brown in oil, then soften in the broth to give the soup body.
Tomatoes: Provide acidity and moisture, and their puréed pulp thickens and colours the broth.
Onion: Adds sweetness and savoury depth when softened in the blended base.
Garlic: Contributes pungent aroma that mellows as the soup simmers.
Beef or chicken stock: Forms the liquid base and supplies most of the soup's savoury flavour.

The step that matters

Browning the noodles in the oil. Frying the noodles until lightly browned develops toasty, nutty flavour through the Maillard reaction. Noodles left pale taste flatter, and burnt ones turn bitter, so watch them closely over high heat.

Swap the clove

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

Thymefits better
Cuminfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, tomato, onion, garlic, beef, pepper, sherry. 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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Mexican Sopa De Fideos