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Gambian Caldo

A hearty soup made with beef or chicken, vegetables, and spices.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Gambian Caldo

Time1–1.5 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.

  2. Add the finely chopped onion and minced garlic to the pot.

  3. Sauté until the onion becomes translucent and the garlic is fragrant.

  4. Add the beef or chicken pieces to the pot and cook until they are browned on all sides.

Build the soup

  1. Stir in the sliced carrots, cubed potatoes, sliced celery, chopped bell pepper, and diced tomatoes.

  2. Cook for a few minutes to allow the vegetables to soften slightly.

  3. Pour in the beef or chicken broth, ensuring that the ingredients are fully covered.

  4. Add the ground cumin, dried oregano, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir well to incorporate the spices.

  5. Bring the soup to a boil.

  6. Reduce the heat to low.

Simmer and serve

  1. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 1–1.5 hours, or until the meat is tender and the flavors have melded together.

  2. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed.

  3. Remove the pot from heat.

  4. Ladle the caldo into serving bowls. Garnish each bowl with freshly chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

848Calories
67 gProtein
34 gFat
70 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 16 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

  1. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,517 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef or chicken
Browns for savory flavor and becomes tender during the long simmer.
Potatoes
Starch thickens the broth slightly and adds body to the soup.
Onion
Sweetens as it softens and builds the flavor base of the soup.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture that help build the broth's savory flavor.
Carrots
Add natural sweetness and hold their shape through simmering.

The step that matters

Browning the meat. Searing the meat over medium heat before adding liquid creates browned flavor through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pot or skipping this step leaves the broth tasting flat.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, beef, carrot, potato, celery, pepper):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Cuminfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, beef, carrot, potato, celery, 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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