Name: Grilled Flank Steak with BBQ Vegetables
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 flank steak (about 565 g/1¼ lb); 60 mL (¼ cup) balsamic vinegar; 15 mL (1 tbsp) sodium-reduced soy; 15 mL (1 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce; 2 cloves garlic, grated; 10 mL (2 tsp) chopped fresh rosemary; 10 mL (2 tsp) extra virgin olive oil; 5 mL (1 tsp) Dijon mustard; 1 pkg (170 g/6 oz) sliced portabella mushrooms; 1 small red onion, cut into wedges; 1 zucchini, sliced; 1 red pepper, quartered; 750 mL (3 cups) baby spinach

Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. 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.

Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,590 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Clove + rosemarytop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together519 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Garlic + rosemarytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,180 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,053 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Flank steak: Lean, fibrous meat that becomes tender when sliced thinly across the grain after resting.
Balsamic vinegar: Adds acidity and sweetness that balance the marinade and help brown the surface.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that mellows and deepens during grilling.
Portabella mushrooms: Release moisture and develop savory, meaty flavour when grilled until golden.
Red pepper: Adds sweetness and charred edges that contrast with the savory vegetables.
Baby spinach: Wilts from the residual heat of the vegetables, adding leafy texture and moisture.

The step that matters

Rest the steak before slicing. Resting lets juices redistribute through the muscle fibres, so they stay in the meat rather than running onto the board when sliced.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, sauce, garlic, rosemary, olive, mustard, mushroom):

Thymefits better
Capersfits better
Tarragonfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, sauce, garlic, rosemary, olive, mustard, mushroom. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Rosemary	1 tsp dried (1.2g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3

Grilled Flank Steak with BBQ Vegetables