Name: Garbanzo Bean Stew
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 medium red onion , chopped; 1 red bell pepper , peeled, cored and chopped; 2 cloves garlic , minced; Pinch saffron; ½ pound new or boiling potatoes , unpeeled and cut into bite-sized chunks; 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika (such as Pimenton de la Vera); ¼ cup sherry; 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained or 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained; 1 can (14½ ounces ) diced tomatoes plus their liquid; 2½ cups vegetable stock or water; Salt to taste; Freshly-ground pepper to taste; 2 cups hot cooked rice; Chopped parsley , optional 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 ↓

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 + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + potatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,517 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Pepper + clovetop 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

Potatoes: Soften and thicken the stew as they cook, while holding their shape in chunks.
Chickpeas: Provide the bulk and firm, creamy texture of the stew.
Red onion: Builds a sweet, savory base as it softens in the oil.
Diced tomatoes: Add liquid, body and acidity that balance the smoky paprika.
Smoked sweet paprika: Adds smoky aroma and a deep red colour to the stew.
Sherry: Adds acidity and depth, with a short cook to mellow its sharpness.

The step that matters

Simmering until the potatoes are tender. Potatoes need enough time at a gentle simmer to cook through and release starch, which thickens the stew. Boiling hard can break up the chunks and make the liquid cloudy, so keep the heat low once it reaches a boil.

Swap the clove

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

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Cuminfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, pepper, garlic, saffron, potato, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Chickpea	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	134
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
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Saffron	not in our table	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Garbanzo Bean Stew