Name: Broiled Steak with Tomatoe Sauce
Ingredients: 1 steak; 1 can of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes; 1 onion, chopped fine; parsley (for garnish)

Why it works: Tomato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,633 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Broiled Steak with Tomatoe Sauce

Ingredients

1 steak
1 can of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
1 onion, chopped fine
parsley (for garnish)

Directions

Broil the steak until nicely cooked.
In a saucepan, combine the tomatoes and chopped onion.
Pour the tomato mixture over the cooked steak.
Place the steak in the oven for a few minutes.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + parsleytop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,398 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,843 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Steak: Is the main protein, cooked by broiling and served with the sauce.
Tomatoes: Form the sauce base, adding moisture, acidity and body to the dish.
Onion: Adds savory sweetness and aroma to the tomato sauce as it softens.