Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Irish Stew
6 personsIngredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim off some fat from the mutton and cut into moderate-thickness chops.
Pare and halve the potatoes, and cut the onions into thick slices.
Layer and stew
Layer potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, then a layer of mutton and onions, seasoning with pepper and salt; repeat until the pan is full, ensuring plenty of vegetables on top.
Pour in the water and let it stew very gently for 2½ hours, keeping the lid closely shut the whole time and occasionally shaking it to prevent burning.
Alternative methods
Put the mutton into a stewpan with the water and a little salt, and let it stew gently for an hour; cut the meat into small pieces, skim the fat from the gravy, and pare and slice the potatoes and onions.
Layer all ingredients into the stewpan: first a layer of vegetables, then a layer of meat, sprinkling pepper and salt between each layer; cover closely and let the whole stew very gently for 1 hour or rather more, shaking it frequently to prevent burning.
Alternatively, bake the stew in a jar in a moderate oven for about 2 hours.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton (in the method)
- Provides the main meat; slow gentle stewing softens its connective tissue and enriches the gravy.
- Potatoes (in the method)
- Their starch softens and thickens the gravy, giving the stew body.
- Onions
- Add sweetness and savoury depth as they soften into the gravy.
The step that matters
Stew very gently with the lid closed. Vigorous boiling toughens meat and can scorch the base of the pan. Keeping the heat low, the lid tight, and shaking the pan helps the meat become tender and prevents sticking and burning.
“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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