Why it works: Pepper and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rump-steak Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the rump-steak into pieces the size of your hand, trim off skin and sinews, and beat the steak with a chopper.
Mix the chopped eschalots with pepper and salt.
Assemble and bake
Layer some of the mixture at the bottom of a dish, followed by a layer of steak, and repeat until the dish is full.
If using, layer blanched oysters with the steak for added flavor.
Add the mushroom ketchup and stock.
Cover with pastry and bake for 2 hours.
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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Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Ketchup + oystertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together318 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Mushroom + ketchuptop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Mushroom + oystertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + oystertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,663 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rump-steak
- Provides the meat that becomes tender during the long bake, forming the body of the pie.
- Eschalots
- Add savoury sweetness and aroma as they soften and mingle with the meat juices.
- Mushroom ketchup
- Adds deep, savoury umami flavour that seasons the meat and sauce.
- Rich stock
- Supplies moisture and body to the filling, forming the gravy as the pie cooks.
- Pastry
- Seals the filling and forms a crisp, browned crust over the pie.
The step that matters
Beating the steak. Beating the steak with a chopper breaks up its fibres so the meat becomes more tender during the long, slow bake. Pieces that are too thick or untenderised may stay firm and chewy.
“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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