Name: American Marinara Sauce II
Ingredients: Extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Italian, if not Italian then Tunisian, French, and Greek are advisable); 2 tablespoons almond oil; ½ head of garlic (or less), minced; 2 tablespoons dried oregano; 2 tablespoons dried thyme; 2 tablespoons dried red chile flakes; 1 cup (240 g ) fresh basil , finely torn or roughly chopped and reserved; 2 medium to large onions (preferably red or yellow), diced; 1 yellow bell pepper , cut into strips; 1 large can plus 1 small can whole tomatoes , crushed by hand with juices; 1 large can crushed tomatoes; ½ cup (120 ml ), plus more as needed, white table wine; Salt to taste; Ground black pepper to taste; Freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste

Why it works: Oregano and basil match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Oregano + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,390 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Oregano + thymetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together791 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Thyme + basiltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,768 recipes

Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Provide the bulk of the sauce, body, and acidity that carries the flavour.
Onions: Soften and sweeten as they sweat, building a mild savoury base.
Garlic: Adds aromatic pungency that mellows and sweetens during simmering.
Olive oil: Carries fat-soluble aroma from the herbs and spices and adds richness.
White wine: Deglazes browned bits from the pan and adds acidity to balance the tomatoes.
Fresh basil: Adds fresh, aromatic herbal flavour that is partly added at the end.

The step that matters

Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. A long, gentle simmer lets water evaporate so the sauce thickens and the flavours concentrate. Stirring prevents sticking and scorching on the bottom of the pan, which would add bitter, burnt notes.

Swap the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, onion, pepper):

Chickpeafits better
Black-eyed peafits better
Lentilsfits better
Almondthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, onion, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Almond	1 almond (1.2g)	7
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
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

American Marinara Sauce II