Why it works: Asparagus and blue cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 11 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
The recipe
2-4Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Trim the woody ends from the asparagus and cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Trim the green onions, slice the white and light green parts, and finely chop the dark green tops.
Toss the asparagus on a baking sheet with half the olive oil, a pinch of the sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 10 minutes until just tender.
Whisk the eggs, whole milk, remaining sea salt, black pepper and the chopped green onion tops in a bowl.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Cook the sliced green onions for 2 minutes until soft.
Spread the roasted asparagus in the skillet, then pour in the egg mixture. Cook for 2 minutes without stirring until the edges begin to set.
Scatter the crumbled blue cheese over the top. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the center is set and reaches 160°F (71°C).
Let the frittata rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the blue cheese for topping over the surface, slice into wedges and serve warm.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Asparagus + blue cheesetop 10% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Asparagus + olivetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,027 recipes
Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Olive + blue cheesetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together314 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
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Onion + olivetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together26,431 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl butyrate (apple, fruity).
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Milk + blue cheesetop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together119 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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