Name: Veggie Spag Bol Recipe
Ingredients: 300g frozen vegetarian mince; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 teaspoon red (or green) chopped chilli; 2 celery sticks; 1 carrot, chopped; 1 aubergine, finely chopped; 1 cube reduced-salt vegetable stock with 400ml boiled water; 1 can chopped tomatoes; 2 teaspoons dried Italian mixed herbs; 2 tablespoons tomato purée; 200g mushrooms, sliced; 250g dried wholemeal spaghetti; 1 pinch ground black pepper

Why it works: Celery and carrot 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 ↓

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.

Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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

Frozen vegetarian mince: Provides the meaty texture and bulk of the sauce.
Aubergine: Softens as it simmers, adding body and a rich, silky texture to the sauce.
Mushrooms: Release moisture and savoury flavour as they cook down into the sauce.
Chopped tomatoes: Form the liquid base of the sauce and add acidity and fruity flavour.
Tomato purée: Concentrates tomato flavour and adds depth and colour to the sauce.
Wholemeal spaghetti: Gives the dish its starchy base and a nutty, firm bite.

The step that matters

Simmer partially covered and check the liquid. Simmering with a partial lid lets moisture evaporate slowly so the sauce thickens without scorching. Too much evaporation can dry the sauce and catch on the pan, so adding water when needed keeps it saucy.

Swap the clove

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

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Cuminfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, celery, carrot, tomato, mushroom, 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
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Water	not in our table	0

Veggie Spag Bol Recipe