Why it works: Potato and peas are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,016 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓
Beefsteak
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the steak
Cut the tender part of the beef from a porter-house or tenderloin steak, about 3/4 inch thick.
Broil the steak over a hot fire for about 2 minutes, turning it two or three times without piercing it.
Sprinkle the steak with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Place a small piece of butter on top of the steak.
Set the steak in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 1 minute to allow the butter to soak in.
Prepare the sides
Bake 1–2 equal-sized potatoes.
Remove the insides of the potatoes.
Mash the potato insides until smooth.
Season the mashed potatoes with butter or cream and salt.
Press the mashed potatoes through a colander to create a vermicelli-like appearance around the steak.
Heat canned peas with a little salt and butter.
Place the peas around the steak without much juice.
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.
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Potato + peastop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,016 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Pepper + peastop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,331 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + peastop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,887 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef steak
- Provides the main protein; broiling browns the surface while the inside stays tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, soaking into the steak as it rests in the oven.
- Potatoes
- Mashed starch that gives a smooth, creamy base for the plate.
The step that matters
Broil the steak without piercing it. Piercing lets juices escape, leaving the meat drier. Turning it a few times over high heat browns the outside evenly while keeping the juices inside.
Swap the potato
The recipe marks potato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, butter, peas):
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, butter, peas. 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.
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